Editing Carl Nielsen (section)

=== Chamber music ===

Nielsen composed several [[chamber music]] works, some of them still high on the international repertoire. The Wind Quintet, one of his most popular pieces, was composed in 1922 specifically for the Copenhagen Wind Quintet. Simpson, explaining that Nielsen's fondness of wind instruments was closely related to his love of nature, writes: "He was also intensely interested in human character, and in the Wind Quintet composed deliberately for five friends; each part is cunningly made to suit the individuality of each player."<ref>{{harvnb|Sierra Chamber Society}}. Quintet.</ref>{{listen|type=music|pos=left
|header=Wind Quintet, Op. 43
 | filename     = Carl Nielsen - Wind Quintet - 1. Allegro ben moderato.ogg
 | title        = 1. Allegro ben moderato
 | format       = [[Ogg]]
 | description1=
 | filename2    = Carl Nielsen - Wind Quintet - 2. Menuetto.ogg
 | title2       = 2. Menuetto
 | description2 = 
 | format2      = Ogg
 | filename3    = Carl Nielsen - Wind Quintet - 3. Praeludium - Adagio. Tema con variazioni - Un poco andantino.ogg
 | title3       = 3. Praeludium: Adagio. Tema con variazioni: Un poco andantino
 | description3 = Performed by [[James Galway]] (flute) with the Carion quintet
 | format3      = Ogg
}}
Nielsen wrote four string quartets. The [[String Quartet No. 1 (Nielsen)|First String Quartet No. 1 in G minor]], Op. 13 (1889, revised 1900) contains a "Résumé" section in the finale, bringing together themes from the first, third and fourth movements.{{sfn|''Carl Nielsen Edition: Piano and Organ Works''|p=xiv}} The [[String Quartet No. 2 (Nielsen)|Second String Quartet No. 2 in F minor]], Op. 5 appeared in 1890 and the [[String Quartet No. 3 (Nielsen)|Third String Quartet in E-flat major]], Op. 14 in 1898. The music historian Jan Smaczny suggests that in this work "the handling of texture is confident and far less derivative than in earlier works ... [the quartet] prompts the most regret that Nielsen did not pursue the genre further ... to parallel his later symphonic development".{{sfn|Smaczny|2003|p=274}} The [[String Quartet No. 4 (Nielsen)|Fourth String Quartet in F major]] (1904) initially received a mixed reception, with critics uncertain about its reserved style. Nielsen revised it several times, the final version in 1919 being listed as his Op. 44.{{sfn|''Carl Nielsen Edition: Chamber Music 1''|p=xi}}

The violin was Nielsen's own instrument and he composed four large-scale chamber works for it. The departures from standard procedures in the First Sonata, Op. 9 (1895), including its often sudden [[modulation (music)|modulations]] and its terse thematic material, disconcerted Danish critics at its first performance. The Second Sonata, Op.&nbsp;35 of 1912 was written for the violinist [[Peder Møller (violinist)|Peder Møller]] who earlier that year had premiered the composer's Violin Concerto. The work is an example of the composer's progressive tonality since, although it is stated to be in the key of G minor, the first and final movements end in different keys. The critic [[Emilius Bangert]] wrote of the premiere (which was given by [[Axel Gade]]), "The overall impression was of a beautiful, unbroken line&nbsp;– a flow of notes&nbsp;– where in particular a wonderful second subject in the first part and the pure, high sphere of the last part were captivating". Two other works are for violin solo. The ''Prelude, Theme and Variations'', Op. 48 (1923) was written for Telmányi, and, like Nielsen's ''[[Chaconne (Nielsen)|Chaconne]]'' for piano, Op. 32, was inspired by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The ''Preludio e Presto'', Op. 52 (1928) was written as a tribute for the sixtieth birthday of the composer [[Fini Henriques]].{{sfn|Ketting|2007}}