The same observations hold true of The Four Temperaments. How many times have we heard interpretations where the whole symphony sounds "flammatico", not just the laid-back Poco allegretto second movement? No other performance whips up the first-movement coda to such a frenzy of excitement, or drives the finale so dazzlingly from first note to last.

Of course, it helps that both conductors have a real virtuoso band at their beck and call. Historically, a problem with Nielsen performances is that the music is played by less than world-class orchestras, and it demands nothing less. This was the one flaw in Kuchar's recent outstanding complete cycle for Brilliant Classics, but it's just as true of most others as well. So not only are the interpretations outstanding, they also reveal more of the music's too-often-latent possibilities from a purely technical point of view.

The couplings, Martinon's version of Helios Overture along with a bit of flute and harp incidental music from The Mother (played by James Galway and Sioned Williams), are nice to have, the former every bit as fine a performance as that of the Fourth. Both symphonies were released abroad on RCA's "Navigator" series, but the remastered sound is audibly superior in this issue: more vivid and open, and in the "Inextinguishable", just that much roomier (though still a touch tight). If you are just starting a Nielsen collection, let this disc be your first acquisition. You can't do better. [4/14/2006]