Tomi Mäkelä on Carl Nielsen and Arnold Schoenberg (15 min.)

As 2015 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Carl Nielsen, the works of the Danish composer formed a central theme of Musikfest Berlin. Under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle, the Berliner Philharmoniker performed his Fourth Symphony, known as “The Inextinguishable”. The concert also included works by Arnold Schoenberg and Bernhard Herrmann. In this introduction, the Finnish musicologist and pianist Tomi Mäkelä speaks mainly about Carl Nielsen, whose works are an intriguing combination of intellect and a love of nature, Scandinavian folk music influences and elements of musical Modernism.