Carl August Nielsen (9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a composer A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media[clarification needed]. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright[specify] and the, conductor Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles often have conductors, and violinist The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello. The double bass is often described as a member of the violin family, though its tuning and other characteristics share much with the viol from Denmark Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. Denmark has a state-level government and local governments in 98 municipalities. Denmark has been a member of the European Union since 1973, although it has not joined the Eurozone. Denmark is a founding member of NATO and the OECD. Denmark is also a member of the. His works have long been well known in Denmark and they have been "a mainstay throughout the Nordic countries and, to a lesser extent, in Britain," noted the critic Alex Ross in 2008 in The New Yorker The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry published by Condé Nast Publications. Starting as a weekly in the mid-1920s, the magazine is now published forty-seven times per year, with five of these issues covering two-week spans, and rising young conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel and Alan Gilbert are now playing Nielsen's music in the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language.
Carl Nielsen is especially admired for his six symphonies In Western classical music, a symphony is an extended musical composition, scored almost always for orchestra. "Symphony" does not necessarily imply a specific form, though most are composed according to the sonata principle. Many symphonies are tonal works in four movements with the first in sonata form, which is often described by and his concertos for violin, flute and clarinet.
Carl Nielsen appears on the Danish hundred-kroner note.
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Life
Early years
Nielsen was the seventh of twelve children in a poor peasant family in Sortelung (Nørre Lyndelse), south of the city of Odense The city of Odense (Danish pronunciation: [ˈoð̞ˀn̩sə]) is the third largest city in Denmark. The name Odense comes from the Norse god Odin, Denmark Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. Denmark has a state-level government and local governments in 98 municipalities. Denmark has been a member of the European Union since 1973, although it has not joined the Eurozone. Denmark is a founding member of NATO and the OECD. Denmark is also a member of the. His father was a house painter and amateur musician. Carl first discovered music by experimenting with the sounds and pitches he heard when striking logs in a pile of firewood behind his home. Nielsen also considered the wistful songs his mother sang and the wedding parties and other festivities at which his father played violin and coronet as other formative musical experiences. Other inspirational sources for his music would become, as David Fanning writes in the New Grove, "the underlying animating forces of nature and human character. They were to become sources of inspiration for his own music, as archetypal embodiments of oneness and conflict respectively."[1]
Carl Nielsen's childhood homeNielsen learned the violin The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello. The double bass is often described as a member of the violin family, though its tuning and other characteristics share much with the viol and piano The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is widely known as one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in Classical music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal. Although not portable and often expensive, as a child and wrote his earliest compositions at the age of eight or nine: a lullaby, now lost, and a polka which the composer notated in his autobiography. He also learned how to play brass instruments A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones, literally meaning "lip-vibrated instruments", which led to a job as a bugler The bugle is one of the simplest brass instruments, having no valves or other pitch-altering devices. All pitch control is done by varying the player's embouchure, since the bugle has no other mechanism for controlling pitch. Consequently, the bugle is limited to notes within the harmonic series. See bugle call for scores to standard bugle calls, and alto When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence, for example, the term "alto saxophone". In other "families", such as the trombone, there is no soprano, the alto having been the highest, although trombonist The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate. The trombone is usually characterised by a telescopic slide with which the player varies the length of the tube to change pitches, although the valve in the 16th Battalion at nearby Odense The city of Odense (Danish pronunciation: [ˈoð̞ˀn̩sə]) is the third largest city in Denmark. The name Odense comes from the Norse god Odin. He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen First documented in the 11th century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the beginning of the 15th century and during the 17th century under the reign of Christian IV it became a significant regional centre. With the completion of the transnational Oresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating from the beginning of 1884 until December 1886. Though not an outstanding student there and composing little, he progressed well in violin under Valdemar Tofte and received a solid grounding in music theory Music theory is the field of study that deals with how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures found in composers' techniques, across or within genres, styles, or historical periods. In a grand sense, music theory distills and analyzes the fundamental parameters or elements of music from Orla Rosenhoff, who would remain a valued adviser during Nielsen's early years as a professional composer. Contacts with fellow students and cultured families in Copenhagen, some of which would become lifelong friends, would become equally important. The patchy education resulting from his country background left Nielsen insatiably curious about the arts, philosophy and aesthetics; it also left him, Faning writes, "with a highly personal, common man's point of view on those subjects."[1]
Nielsen progressed well enough on the violin to gain a position with the orchestra of the Royal Theater in Copenhagen in September 1889, three years after his graduation from the conservatory. This position would sometimes cause Nielsen considerable frustration but he continued to play there until 1905. In between graduation and attaining this position, he gave violin lessons, made a modest income as a teacher and enjoyed continued support from patrons. Some of Nielsen's string chamber works were performed at this time; these included a Quartet in F which the composer considered his official debut as a professional composer. However, the greatest impression was made by Nielsen's Suite for Strings, which was performed at Tivoli Hall on September 8, 1888. Nielsen would designate this work his Opus 1.[1]
Marriage
After less than a year at the Royal Theater, Nielsen won a scholarship of 1800 kroner The krone is the currency of the Kingdom of Denmark. The krone is pegged to the euro via the European Union's exchange rate mechanism. The plural of krone is kroner. The krone is divided into 100 øre, the singular form being the same as the plural. The ISO 4217 code is DKK; the domestic abbreviation is "kr.". Occasionally, the variants, allowing him the means to travel several months in Europe. During this time he discovered and abandoned Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or "music dramas", as they were later called). Wagner's compositions, particularly those of his later period, are notable for their complex texture, rich harmonies and orchestration, and the elaborate use of leitmotifs:'s music dramas, heard many of the leading orchestras and soloists in Europe and sharpened his opinions on both music and the visual arts. While revering the music of Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March 1685 [O.S. 21 March] – 28 July 1750) (often referred to simply as Bach) was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose ecclesiastical and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity and Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (German: [ˈvɔlfɡaŋ amaˈdeus ˈmoːtsaʁt], full baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music. He is among, he remained ambivalent about much 19th century music. In Paris he met the Danish sculptress Anna Marie Brodersen, who was also traveling on scholarship. They toured Italy together, marrying in Florence Florence (Italian: Firenze listen , pronounced [fiˈrɛntse]; alternative obsolete spelling: Fiorenza, Latin: Florentia) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 367,569 inhabitants (1,500,000 in the metropolitan area) in March 10, 1891 before returning to Denmark.[2]
"As well as being a love match," Fanning writes, "it was also a meeting of minds. Anne Marie was a gifted artist.... She was also a strong-willed and modern-minded woman, determined to forge her own career."[2] This determination would strain the Nielsens' marriage, as Anne Marie would go for months on location during the 1890s and 1900s, leaving Carl to raise their three young children while fitting in his duties at the Royal Theater and time to compose. While Carl suggested divorce in March 1905, the Nielsens remained married for the remainder of the composer's life. Carl sublimated his anger and frustration over his marriage in a number of musical works, most notably between 1897 and 1904, a period to which he sometimes referred as his "psychological" period.[2] Fanning writes, "At this time his interest in the driving forces behind human personality crystallized in the opera Saul og David and the Second Symphony ("De fire temperamenter") and the cantatas Hymnus amoris and Søvnen.[2]
Mature composer
At first, he did not gain enough recognition for his works to support him. During the concert which saw the premiere of his first symphony In Western classical music, a symphony is an extended musical composition, scored almost always for orchestra. "Symphony" does not necessarily imply a specific form, though most are composed according to the sonata principle. Many symphonies are tonal works in four movements with the first in sonata form, which is often described by on 14 March 1894 conducted by Johan Svendsen, Nielsen played in the second violin The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello. The double bass is often described as a member of the violin family, though its tuning and other characteristics share much with the viol section. However, the same symphony was a great success when played in Berlin Berlin (English pronunciation: /bɜrˈlɪn/; German pronunciation: [bɛɐ̯ˈliːn] ) is the capital city and one of 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union. Located in northeastern in 1896, and from then his fame grew. Nielsen became increasingly in demand to write incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack." for the theater and for cantatas A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir to mark special occasions; these provided a welcome source of additional income. "A reciprocal relationship grew up between his programmatic and symphonic works," Fanning writes; "sometimes he would find stageworthy ideas in his supposedly pure orchestral music; sometimes a text or scenario forced him to invent vivid musical imagery which he could later turn to more abstract use."[2]
Beginning in 1901, Nielsen received a modest state pension—800 kronen at first, growing to 7500 kronen by 1927—to augment his violinist's salary. This allowed him to stop taking private pupils and left more time to compose. From 1903 he also had an annual retainer from his principal publisher, Wilhelm Hansen Edition. Between 1905 and 1914 he served as second conductor at the Royal Theatre. From 1914-26, he conducted the orchestra of "Musikforeningen". In 1916 he took a post teaching at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, and continued to work there until his death, in his last year as director of the institute.
Personally, the strain of dual careers and constant separation from his wife led to more than one extra-marital affair. When the last one came to light, between Nielsen and the governess of his children, the result was an eight-year breach in his marriage. During much of this time Carl and Anne Marie lived apart and the period led to a creative crisis for Nielsen, bringing about a powerful reappraisal of himself as a composer. This, along with World War I World War I was a military conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918 and involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies and the Central Powers. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. More than 15 million people were and professional developments in his life, would strongly influence his Fourth and Fifth Symphonies The Symphony No. 5 by Danish composer Carl Nielsen was completed on 15 January 1922 and first performed in Copenhagen on 24 January 1922 with the composer conducting. It is one of two of Nielsen's six symphonies lacking a subtitle, arguably his greatest works.[3]
For his son-in-law, the Hungarian violinist Dr. Emil Telmanyi, Nielsen wrote his Violin Concerto op. 33 (1911).
Nielsen suffered a serious heart attack in 1925 and from that time on he was forced to curtail much of his activity, although he continued to compose until his death. Also during this period he wrote a delightful memoir of his childhood called My Childhood on Funen (1927). He also produced a short book of essays entitled Living Music (1925). Both have been translated into English. He died in Copenhagen in 1931.
Music
Further information: List of compositions by Carl NielsenNielsen is best known for his six symphonies In Western classical music, a symphony is an extended musical composition, scored almost always for orchestra. "Symphony" does not necessarily imply a specific form, though most are composed according to the sonata principle. Many symphonies are tonal works in four movements with the first in sonata form, which is often described by. Other well-known pieces are the incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack." for Adam Oehlenschläger's drama Aladdin, the operas Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance. The performance is typically given in an opera house, Saul og David and Maskarade, the concerti A concerto as a musical work is a composition usually in three parts or movements, in which (usually) one solo instrument (for instance, a piano or violin) is accompanied by an orchestra. The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have origin from the conjunction of the two Latin words conserere (meaning to tie, to join, to weave) and for flute, violin, and clarinet, the wind quintet A wind quintet, also sometimes known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players . The term also applies to a composition for such a group, and the Helios Overture, which depicts the passage of the sun in the sky from dawn to nightfall. The vast majority of Danes Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. Denmark has a state-level government and local governments in 98 municipalities. Denmark has been a member of the European Union since 1973, although it has not joined the Eurozone. Denmark is a founding member of NATO and the OECD. Denmark is also a member of the know and sing the numerous songs by various poets, set to music by Carl Nielsen.
Like his contemporary, the Finn Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( pronunciation ) (8 December 1865 – 20 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity, he studied Renaissance polyphony In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony) closely, which accounts for much of the melodic and harmonic "feel" of his music.
Nielsen's works are sometimes referred to by FS numbers, from the 1965 catalog compiled by Dan Fog and Torben Schousboe.
