Sir John Barbirolli was a champion of both Jean Sibelius and Carl Nielsen. He recorded all the Sibelius Symphonies and many of the orchestral works, but this 1959 recording of the Symphony No.4 ‘The Inextinguishable’ is Barbirolli’s only commercial recording of the music of Nielsen.
The symphony expresses ‘the elemental will to life’ and the explosive start to the symphony bears witness to the inextinguishable energy of the natural world. In the astonishingly powerful finale Nielsen places two timpani players at opposite sides of the orchestra, and from here their thundering volleys fly across the sound stage at each other. Barbirolli’s classic recording is a powerful rendition of Nielsen’s greatest symphony. Sir John was also a champion of the music of Brahms.
He recorded the four symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic and the piano concertos with Daniel Barenboim. This 1959 recording of Symphony No.4 with the Hallé Orchestra was briefly available on CD over ten years ago, so this latest reissue is a welcome reminder of Barbirolli intense performance.
