Paavo Järvi is one of the most successful and distinctive conductors in the international music scene. His recordings of the complete Beethoven and Bruckner symphonies have received rave reviews and are in fact regarded as “reference recordings” (Fono Forum).

His current project with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony is again another great symphonic cycle: the six symphonies by Denmark’s most famous composer Carl Nielsen (1865–1931), whose 150th anniversary is celebrated this year.

A quarter-century lies between the composition of the first and last symphony – the musical development is therefore quite remarkable: Nielsen’s first symphony is seen by the Danish as a mode of expression for national romanticism whereas his sixth symphony, deceptively called 'Semplice' (=simple) but characterized by bi- and polytonal harmonies, is almost unplayable.

As a native Estonian, Paavo Järvi has always felt a particular affinity for Nordic composers, and when he took up his new post as general music director of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2006, he inaugurated his incumbency with a complete performance of Sibelius’s Kullervo, signalling the fact that during his seven years with the orchestra Scandinavian symphonic music would feature prominently in his repertory.

Among other recordings that he made with the orchestra during this period, this complete recording of the symphonies of Carl Nielsen takes pride of place, focusing, as it does, on a Danish national hero on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth.