The Danish composer Carl Nielsen (1865–1931) was one of the most important symphonists of the early twentieth century: his six symphonies, written between 1892 and 1925, are the core of his . Many of classical music's conductor–orchestra partnerships have recorded the complete set, colloquially known as the "Nielsen cycle". Specifically, the standard cycle includes:

Symphony No. 1 in G minor, (1892) Symphony No. 2, The Four Temperaments (), (1902) Symphony No. 3, , (1911) Symphony No. 4, The Inextinguishable (), (1916) Symphony No. 5, (1922) Symphony No. 6, , FS 116 (1925)

As of , the Nielsen cycle been recorded 22 times. The most recently completed cycle, finished in 2022, is by Fabio Luisi and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra; an additional projected twenty-third cycle is in progress, according to press releases. Two conductors have tackled the project more than once: Herbert Blomstedt (1974, 1989) and Michael Schønwandt (2000, 2000) recorded the Nielsen cycle two times. Among ensembles, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra has recorded the cycle a record four times.

Precursors

Several Danish conductors associated with Danish Radio performed Nielsen's symphonies. Most notably, Thomas Jensen recorded the complete cycle with the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1947 to 1959: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 5 for Decca, No. 6 for Tono (Mercury in the U.S., World Record Club in the U.K.), and No. 2 for His Master's Voice (UK), as well as live broadcast recordings of Nos. 3 and 4. These have since been collected into an informal Nielsen cycle and re-released by Danacord.

+ Conductor Orchestra Years Symphony runtime Recording venue Label Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra 32:52 31:05 34:51 33:16 33:30 32:44 Danish Radio Concert Hall Danacord

Complete Nielsen cycles: 1974–present Complete cycles + Conductor Orchestra Years Symphony runtime Recording venue Label 1 London Symphony Orchestra (1) 34:34 31:55 38:26 34:02 35:43 35:02 Church of St. Giles, Cripplegate Unicorn, Regis2  (1)  (1) 35:52 33:46 35:58 34:09 35:35 35:12 Danish Radio Concert Hall EMI Classics, Warner Classics3 Royal Danish Orchestra 31:28 32:12 35:23 33:11 36:35 32:41 Odd Fellows Hall RCA Red Seal4  (2) San Francisco Symphony 32:57 32:21 35:23 36:13 35:34 34:01 Davies Symphony Hall Decca5 Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra 32:21 32:27 37:57 36:07 36:52 32:19Berwald Hall CBS Masterworks, Sony Classical6 Royal Scottish National Orchestra 32:10 30:15 36:18 35:41 35:02 33:48 Henry Wood Hall, Glasgow (1–2)Glasgow City Halls (3, 5)Caird Hall (4, 6) Chandos7 Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra 30:20 32:38 37:43 33:56 33:54 32:26 Gothenburg Concert Hall Deutsche Grammophon8 Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (1) 37:01 35:32 42:02 37:04 36:45 34:52 Stockholm Concert Hall Chandos9 National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland 33:08 32:23 35:51 36:28 37:04 34:25 National Concert Hall Naxos10 Odense Symphony Orchestra 36:08 ? 37:47 36:24 35:41 35:51 Kontrapunkt11  (1)  (2) 34:00 33:55 37:16 36:28 38:21 34:34 Danish Radio Concert Hall Dacapo, Naxos12  (2)  (3) 33:30 34:45 37:55 35:59 37:39 36:50 Danish Radio Concert Hall Dacapo13 Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra 31:06 32:10 36:22 36:37 34:48 31:37 Sibelius Hall (1–2)Kulttuuritalo (3–6) Finlandia14 Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra 31:21 31:19 35:40 34:45 33:11 33:33 Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool Classico15 BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra 35:45 33:41 36:14 35:31 36:40 33:44 Glasgow City Halls BIS16 Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra 33:11 32:06 36:49 34:00 34:40 34:48 Brilliant Classics17 London Symphony Orchestra (2) 33:20 31:54 34:41 31:21 35:17 34:51 Barbican Centre LSO Live18 Frankfurt Radio Symphony 33:59 33:39 37:19 35:00 37:03 33:16 Friedrich-von-Thiersch-Saal, Wiesbaden Kurhaus (1)Großer Saal, Alte Oper (2–6) RCA Red Seal19 Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (2) 33:50 31:21 37:48 35:15 33:50 32:32 Stockholm Concert Hall BIS20 New York Philharmonic 33:18 35:08 37:15 35:57 36:57 34:28 Avery Fisher Hall Dacapo21 BBC Philharmonic 33:20 33:09 37:57 35:08 36:00 35:18 MediaCityUK Chandos22  (4) 33:51 34:56 39:22 36:31 35:45 35:38 DR Koncerthuset Deutsche Grammophon

Incomplete Nielsen cycles: 1962–present Projected cycles in progress As of , there is one new Nielsen cycle in progress, by Edward Gardner and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Once completed, this will be a record fourth Nielsen cycle for Chandos. + Conductor Orchestra Years Symphony runtime Recording venue Label Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra – – 34:57 34:25 34:23 – Grieg Hall Chandos

Incomplete cycles no longer in progress

In addition to the 22 completed Nielsen cycles, there are a number of incomplete traversals available to the public. The sortable table below includes these incomplete cycles for which a conductor recorded with the same orchestra at least three of the six symphonies:

+ Conductor Orchestra Years Symphony runtime Recording venue Label New York Philharmonic – 34:36 37:21 40:10 33:13 – CBS 30th Street Studio (2)Odd Fellows Hall (3)Avery Fisher Hall (4)Manhattan Center (5) Sony Classical Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra 33:55 34:11 37:30 – 33:05 – Gothenburg Concert Hall BIS Seattle Symphony 33:00 30:03 36:34 34:07 – – Benaroya Hall Seattle Symphony Media

Notes, references, and sources Notes

References

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