Thomas Jensen Legacy. Volume 24
Adam Harasiewicz (piano)/Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra: Tivoli Concert Hall Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Chapel
rec. broadcasts, private recordings and studio recordings, 1942-63
Danacord DACOCD934 [63 + 55]
This is the last in Danacord’s 24-volume series devoted to the conductor Thomas Jensen. It’s been a long, adventurous and consistently exciting haul through his commercial, broadcast and private recordings and I’m going to miss seeing another Jensen disc on the reviewing table. This final release divides equally between the canon – Chopin, Sibelius – and the lighter material of which Jensen was so expert an interpreter.
Adam Harasiewicz, still alive at the time of writing at the age of 93, is the soloist in the Chopin F minor Piano Concerto, a broadcast recording given in 1963. His technique is rock solid and he has a nuanced way with phraseology, finding the requisite amount of poetic refinement in the slow movement. Altogether it’s a fine performance. Sibelius’ Sixth Symphony, heard in an undated traversal (though probably dating to the years 1955-56) is preserved on non-commercial lacquers that derive from Jensen’s estate. There is another recording of the symphony in this series in Volume 16 from November 1962 and the one under review, which has been previously unreleased, is very similar not only in outline but also in detail. Apart from a few thumps from time to time the lacquers are in fine condition and the performance can be enjoyed in good mono. The Swan of Tuonela ends the first disc.
If CD 2 is more of a miscellany, it’s an appropriate one with some works that have appeared in other performances in this series, such as Fini Henriques’ Prelude to Vølund the Smith (it’s in volume 12). The Tono studio recording here dates to 1948 and is brassy and heroic as well as indulging an elfin B section. Riisager’s Primavera was broadcast on 20 October 1963, just a few weeks before Jensen’s untimely death. The four excerpts from his Twelve by Mail (studio recording for Tono, this time in 1945) are charming, lively and energising and you can turn to volume 9 for more examples of his way with this piece.
Launy Grøndahl’s Symphonic Variations on an Old Jutland Song was performed just two days before the composer’s death and his work is part-Rosenkavalier, part-ballad and part-Nocturnal added to which there are fugal elements and pawky panels. An entertaining hodgepodge in other words. The Concertino for string orchestra was the work of the composer-administrator Flemming Weis. He promotes Bartókian values in this piece, springy in the opening, mining the nocturnal in the central panel and launching a full-on jagged, stern rhythmic test for the orchestra in the finale. There are two powerfully conceived excerpts, lasting seven-minutes, from Herman D. Koppel’s Three Psalms of David, sung by the Danish Radio Choir. The envoi to this series is Nielsen’s March from The Mother, an Odeon 78 from 1942 and the earliest sighting of Jensen in this volume.
Remember, of course, that this twofer is, as ever, priced ‘as for one’, that the booklet notes are in the joint hands of Martin Granau and Peter Quantrill, that the transfers have been effected by Claus Byrith and the executive producer is Jesper Buhl – class acts, one and all. Farewell, then, to Thomas Jensen as he conducts Sibelius, acts as accompanist, and explores his Danish repertoire. This characteristic twofer is part of a splendid multi-volume collection that offers rare repertoire, much previously unpublished material and august collaborations.
Jonathan Woolf
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Contents
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Piano Concerto No.2 in F minor, Op.21 (1830)
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Symphony No.6 in D minor, Op.104 (1923)
Lemminkainen Suite, Op.22 II The Swan of Tuonela (1895)
Fini Henriques (1867-1940)
Vølund the Smith – Prelude (1896)
Knudåge Riisager (1897-1974)
Primavera, Op.31 (1934)
Twelve by the Mail, Op.37 (1939) – Four excerpts
Launy Grøndahl (1886-1960)
Symphonic Variations on an Old Jutland Song (1933)
Flemming Weis (1898-1981)
Concertino for string orchestra (1960)
Herman D Koppel (1908-1998)
Three Psalms of David, Op.48 (1949) – excerpts
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)
March from ‘The Mother’ (1920)
