BBC Proms 2015 review - Danish Symphony Orchestra / Luisi: Great Danes serve up a riotous feast

The Danish composer Carl Nielsen, in his 150th anniversary year, is a ubiquitous presence at this year’s Proms. But for anyone who cannot get enough of him, the Albert Hall was last night the place to be.

In a three-hour concert by the Danish National SO on top form under Fabio Luisi, bookended by the relatively familiar Helios Overture with its glorious evocation of a sunrise and the Symphony No 2 (The Four Temperaments), overkill was risked with the inclusion of rarely heard choral pieces.

The Three Motets, from late in Nielsen’s career — typically unpredictable, occasionally astringent — were delivered by the elite Danish National Vocal Ensemble. They were joined by the Danish National Concert Choir and choristers of Winchester Cathedral for the slightly bizarre, but attractive, Hymnus Amoris, celebrating love in all its forms. A memorable moment occurred when the solo soprano (Anna Lucia Richter), representing “An Unhappy Woman”, burst in on the generally upbeat atmosphere to claim love was a pain: “nothing has hurt me as much”. She was rightly bundled away by some “Very Old People” enjoying love in their own way, before everyone joined in an ecstatic climax.

The Symphony, in Luisi’s hands, was a riot of invention, from the hyperactive choleric of the first movement to the bustling sanguine finale. Having dispatched an accomplished Brahms Violin Concerto, Nikolaj Znaider defied a BBC injunction to play a Bach sarabande as an encore. I hope he’s invited back nevertheless.

The BBC Proms (bbc.co.uk/proms) continue until September 12

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