Symphony No. 3

The six symphonies of Carl Nielsen are central to his output; and the third, written in 1910/11, was the turning point that established his distinctive mastery of the medium. Known by the title “Espansiva”, its “expansiveness” is not so much a reference to the music’s length (a fairly average 35 minutes) as to the attitude of mind that lies behind it: a robustly optimistic open-heartedness that governed Nielsen’s output at the time. It wouldn’t last. But while it did, it happily went hand in hand with a benign nationalism that celebrated his native Denmark. And Denmark is very present in this symphony—especially the second movement whose pastoral beauty suggests a gentle landscape, idealised by ethereally wordless singing (from soprano and baritone soloists) into something Nielsen imagined as “Paradise before the Fall”. By contrast, the first movement is all energy, plunging headlong into action with bare, open-octave chords (repeated 26 times) that accelerate and launch a sweeping waltz: too fast to dance to, but exhilarating. The third movement (“Allegretto un poco”) presents a folk-like oboe theme, while the “Finale” closes what’s essentially a classical symphonic structure with a sturdy, four-square tune that Nielsen called a “hymn to work and the healthy enjoyment of daily life”. And if that sounds like Soviet Socialist Realism, it’s actually one big smile: genuine, good-natured and uplifting.