The partnership of Edward Gardner and the Bergen Philharmonic has produced strong results in recordings of music from Scandinavia and beyond, with superb engineering from the Grieghalle in Bergen and a clean string sound that can stand with any in Europe. Those virtues are apparent on this release of music by Carl Nielsen, but there is a bonus: violinist James Ehnes turns in a rigorous performance of Nielsen's Violin Concerto, Op. 33, that is absolutely delightful. The Violin Concerto was written just a few years before the Symphony No. 4, Op. 29 ("Inextinguishable"), but it is a very different kind of work, closer to Nielsen's light-spirited theater music than to the symphony, but still with full-scale structural contrasts between violin and orchestra. Ehnes brings pinpoint accuracy and crackling humor to the work; listeners can sample the final rondo for an idea. The Symphony No. 4 is also very strong, with somewhat slow tempos opening up a lot of carefully traced detail but a strong pulse from Gardner holding everything together. A wonderful Nielsen release. ~ James Manheim