Editing Carl Nielsen (section)

=== Mature composer ===
[[File:Carl Nielsen family at Fuglsang, Lolland.jpg|thumb|alt=photo of Carl Nielsen and four members of his family|Nielsen and his family at [[Fuglsang Manor]], {{circa|1915}}]]
At first, Nielsen's works did not gain sufficient recognition for him to be able to support himself. During the concert which saw the premiere of his [[Symphony No. 1 (Nielsen)|First Symphony]] on 14 March 1894 conducted by Svendsen, Nielsen played in the second violin section. The symphony was a great success when played in Berlin in 1896, contributing significantly to his reputation. He was increasingly in demand to write [[incidental music]] for the theatre as well as cantatas for special occasions, both of which provided a welcome source of additional income. Fanning comments on the relationship which developed between his programmatic and symphonic works: "Sometimes he would find stageworthy ideas in his supposedly pure orchestral music; sometimes a text or scenario forced him to invent vivid musical imagery which he could later turn to more abstract use."{{sfn|Fanning|2001|p=889}}

Nielsen's [[cantata]] ''Hymnus amoris'' for soloists, chorus and orchestra was first performed at Copenhagen's [[Musikforeningen]] (The Music Society) on 27 April 1897. It was inspired by [[Titian]]'s painting ''[[Miracle of the Jealous Husband]]'' which Nielsen had seen on his honeymoon in Italy in 1891. On one of the copies, he wrote: "To my own Marie! These tones in praise of love are nothing compared to the real thing."{{sfn|''Carl Nielsen Edition: Cantatas 1''|pp=xi–xiv}}<ref name="CNS-sym-op" />

Beginning in 1901, Nielsen received a modest state pension&nbsp;– initially 800 kroner per annum, growing to 7,500 kroner by 1927&nbsp;– to augment his violinist's salary. This allowed him to stop taking private pupils and left him more time to compose. From 1903, he also had an annual retainer from his principal publisher, {{Interlanguage link multi|Wilhelm Hansen Edition|da}}. Between 1905 and 1914 he served as second conductor at the Royal Theatre. For his son-in-law, Emil Telmányi, Nielsen wrote his Violin Concerto, Op. 33 (1911). From 1914 to 1926, he conducted the Musikforeningen orchestra. In 1916, he took a post teaching at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, and continued to work there until his death.<ref name="CNS-sym-op" />
[[File:Carl Nielsen 1917.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Nielsen in 1917|alt=Carl Nielsen, seated, facing right, smartly dressed in a suit and waistcoat]]

The strain of dual careers and constant separation from his wife led to an extended breach in his marriage. The couple began separation proceedings in 1916, and separation by mutual consent was granted in 1919. In the period 1916–22, Nielsen often lived on Funen, regularly retreating also to the Damgaard and [[Fuglsang Manor|Fuglsang]] estates, or worked as a conductor in [[Gothenburg]].<ref name="CNS-crisis" /> The period was one of creative crisis for Nielsen which, coinciding with World War I, would strongly influence his [[Symphony No. 4 (Nielsen)|Fourth]] (1914–16) and [[Symphony No. 5 (Nielsen)|Fifth symphonies]] (1921–22), arguably his greatest works according to Fanning.{{sfn|Fanning|2001|p=890}} The composer was particularly upset in the 1920s when his long-standing Danish publisher Wilhelm Hansen was unable to undertake publication of many of his major works, including ''Aladdin'' and ''Pan and Syrinx''.<ref name="CNS-pile" />

The sixth and final symphony, ''Sinfonia semplice'', was written in 1924–25. After suffering a serious heart attack in 1925, Nielsen was forced to curtail much of his activity, although he continued to compose until his death. His sixtieth birthday in 1925 brought many congratulations, a decoration from the Swedish government, and a gala concert and reception in Copenhagen. The composer, however, was in a dour mood; in an article in ''[[Politiken]]'' on 9 November 1925 he wrote: <blockquote>If I could live my life again, I would chase any thoughts of Art out of my head and be apprenticed to a merchant or pursue some other useful trade the results of which could be visible in the end&nbsp;... What use is it to me that the whole world acknowledges me, but hurries away and leaves me alone with my wares until everything breaks down and I discover to my disgrace that I have lived as a foolish dreamer and believed that the more I worked and exerted myself in my art, the better position I would achieve. No, it is no enviable fate to be an artist.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://carlnielsen.dk/pages/biography/art-and-consciousness.php|title=Art and consciousness|publisher=Carl Nielsen Society|access-date=27 April 2015|archive-date=12 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512130043/http://carlnielsen.dk/pages/biography/art-and-consciousness.php|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>