Little Suite, Op. 1

Nielsen's Opus 1, written at twenty-three and premiered at Copenhagen's Tivoli in September 1888, marks the official starting point of Denmark's greatest symphonist. Its three movements for string orchestra — Praeludium, Intermezzo, Finale — still speak the lyrical Nordic Romantic idiom of Grieg's generation, but the finale's insistent forward drive already hints at the composer of six symphonies to come.