What inspired Nielsen to compose his second symphony?<\/span><\/h2>\nThere he spotted a naive, brightly coloured <\/span>painting depicting the Four Temperaments <\/span>\u2013 characters based on the medieval theory of humours that regulate the human body.<\/span><\/p>\nNielsen laughed out loud at the comic, exaggerated figures representing the Choleric, the Phlegmatic, the Melancholic and the Sanguine man, yet couldn\u2019t get them out of his mind. \u2018These simple paintings contained a core of goodness and \u2013 even \u2013 a musical possibility into the <\/span>bargain,\u2019 he recalled some 30 years later<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<\/p>
![\""The\"]( "\\"\"Johann\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> The Four Temperaments as depicted by Johann Kaspar Lavater \u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nNielsen had always been fascinated by psychology, and his letters contain perceptive portraits of musicians he encountered. In the Second Symphony he aimed to translate human complexity into music, perhaps recognising the contradictions evident in his own volatile character. <\/span><\/p>\nA sequence of photographs from 1887 (in the Royal Library Copenhagen) show Nielsen fooling around for the camera: his pleasant features, tufty blond hair and large blue eyes suggest an easy-going and playful young man. In fact, his life and relationships were often fraught with difficulty and he suffered from periods of depression.<\/span><\/p>\nWhen did Nielsen compose his second symphony?<\/span><\/h2>\nNielsen wrote his Second Symphony in 1901, while employed as a second violinist in the Chapel Royal Orchestra (later the Royal Danish Orchestra). <\/span><\/p>\nIn November 1902, he conducted the premiere of his first opera at the Royal Theatre and three days later conducted the first performance of his Second Symphony for the Danish Concert Association. It was well received by the audience, but the reviews were mixed. <\/span><\/p>\nDanish composer and critic Leopold Rosenfeld called it \u2018a suite of moods for orchestra\u2019 rather than a symphony<\/a><\/strong>. \u2018What is especially captivating about these musical illustrations is the composer\u2019s ability to mix colours, which neglects no opportunity to exercise the listening ear. Sometimes, though, the colours are very brutal and in their crudeness easily cross the aesthetic line.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n - Six fascinating facts about Nielsen<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
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Later audiences would be enchanted by the ideas that mark Nielsen out as an original, experimental and bold composer. Those qualities were already evident in his First Symphony of 1892, his unorthodox juggling of keys anchored by an instinctive feeling for counterpoint and melody<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n He developed these more successfully in the Second Symphony, which though it may not rival the Third Symphony (\u2018Espansiva\u2019) in popularity, nevertheless has many of the <\/span>same ingredients. Nielsen knows how to lift <\/span>the heart with those joyful high woodwind passages, while his earthy bassoon and trombone lines add colour and depth to his canvas. He has a gift for depicting life in all its mess and beauty, and nowhere more so than in \u2018The Four Temperaments\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\nA guide to the music of Nielsen\u2019s Symphony No. 2, \u2018The Four Temperaments\u2019<\/h2>\n
Nielsen laughed out loud at the comic, exaggerated figures representing the Choleric, the Phlegmatic, the Melancholic and the Sanguine man, yet couldn\u2019t get them out of his mind. \u2018These simple paintings contained a core of goodness and \u2013 even \u2013 a musical possibility into the <\/span>bargain,\u2019 he recalled some 30 years later<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n \n<\/p> Nielsen had always been fascinated by psychology, and his letters contain perceptive portraits of musicians he encountered. In the Second Symphony he aimed to translate human complexity into music, perhaps recognising the contradictions evident in his own volatile character. <\/span><\/p>\n A sequence of photographs from 1887 (in the Royal Library Copenhagen) show Nielsen fooling around for the camera: his pleasant features, tufty blond hair and large blue eyes suggest an easy-going and playful young man. In fact, his life and relationships were often fraught with difficulty and he suffered from periods of depression.<\/span><\/p>\n Nielsen wrote his Second Symphony in 1901, while employed as a second violinist in the Chapel Royal Orchestra (later the Royal Danish Orchestra). <\/span><\/p>\n In November 1902, he conducted the premiere of his first opera at the Royal Theatre and three days later conducted the first performance of his Second Symphony for the Danish Concert Association. It was well received by the audience, but the reviews were mixed. <\/span><\/p>\n Danish composer and critic Leopold Rosenfeld called it \u2018a suite of moods for orchestra\u2019 rather than a symphony<\/a><\/strong>. \u2018What is especially captivating about these musical illustrations is the composer\u2019s ability to mix colours, which neglects no opportunity to exercise the listening ear. Sometimes, though, the colours are very brutal and in their crudeness easily cross the aesthetic line.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> Later audiences would be enchanted by the ideas that mark Nielsen out as an original, experimental and bold composer. Those qualities were already evident in his First Symphony of 1892, his unorthodox juggling of keys anchored by an instinctive feeling for counterpoint and melody<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n He developed these more successfully in the Second Symphony, which though it may not rival the Third Symphony (\u2018Espansiva\u2019) in popularity, nevertheless has many of the <\/span>same ingredients. Nielsen knows how to lift <\/span>the heart with those joyful high woodwind passages, while his earthy bassoon and trombone lines add colour and depth to his canvas. He has a gift for depicting life in all its mess and beauty, and nowhere more so than in \u2018The Four Temperaments\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n![\""The\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2023\/07\/GettyImages1277771319cmyk-0797f24.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C727"\" "\\"\"Johann\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>When did Nielsen compose his second symphony?<\/span><\/h2>\n
A guide to the music of Nielsen\u2019s Symphony No. 2, \u2018The Four Temperaments\u2019<\/h2>\n