Carl Nielsen, 1865-1931. Symphony No. 5, Op. 50. Completed 1922, first performance January 24, 1922. Scored for 3 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoon, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, tympani, percussion, and strings.
The Danish composer Carl Nielsen, though little-known to the general public, was arguably one of the most important forces in the development of the modern symphony. Old enough to have met and been influenced by Brahms, the consummate romantic, and young enough to have an influence on Dmitri Shostakovich, who carried the flag of the 20th-century symphony into the 70's, Nielsen's music spans the boundary between Romanticism and Modernism, wearing its heart on its sleeve while pushing the limits of form and tonality.
In 1920, Europe was still reeling from the effects of the first World War. Although Denmark was not directly involved in the conflict, it was impossible for a Dane as worldly as Nielsen to ignore the horrors that had been inflicted upon the continent. His Fifth Symphony is a reflection of these impressions, an attempt to capture the inherent conflict between man's better instincts and the inclination towards evil. He chose a two-movement form, commenting that although it was relatively easy for a composer to write the first three movements of a traditional symphony, many had ``slipped up'' in the finale. This was a rather odd position, given both his own success in the Fourth and the fact that the final movement of the Fifth itself contains a rousing conclusion.
The two-movement form listed in the score is deceptive, for the Fifth is really divided into four distinct sections, two in each movement. Opening darkly and quietly, hinting of what would eventually lead to Shostakovich's most melancholy style, the first movement invents what is still one of all music's most astounding devices, a snare drummer who repeatedly interrupts and is finally instructed to ``improvise as if at all costs he wants to stop the progress of the orchestra.'' But the drummer eventually is drawn into the climax, then fades away into the distance, defeated by the essence of humanity. The second movement builds further from this result, with the music eventually reaching astounding proportions and finding its way into the light to express Nielsen's innate optimism and love for the human race.
© 1995, Geoff Kuenning
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