The Four Temperaments
was commissioned by the Yorkshire Imperial Band
and first performed by them in 1983. The suite
depicts the four traditional temperaments, as
Nielsen had done in his second symphony:
Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Melancholic, and Choleric,
though each movement stands up as absolute music.
The
composer has said of The Four Temperaments: 'The
Melancholic wants to be broad, warm and grand,
without haste or hysteria. As for the rest, it
should go like a bomb.' It does!
Duration: 22:00
