Karajan remains the only version I've heard (which includes
Grondhal) to get the closing section right (well, apart form the
stupid break just after the final timpani "battle") -- as Robert
Simpson points out, the "motto" theme should at the end be played
faster than at any other point in the symphony. The brass are not
too coarse IMO (and I don't think the BPO's usual brass style
would be much use in Nielsen anyway). True that the recording is
a typical DG earl-digital clunker, but the performance is quite
impressive. Many think Karajan viewed music out of a limousine,
but it's not always the case, and this is one. I don't care that
his tempo seems slightly slower than average: I think his
conception of the piece works, and that's what counts.
Adrian