Gade, Niels Wilhelm

Niels Wilhelm Gade – Frühlings-Botschaft (Springs-Message) op. 35

(b. Copenhagen, 22. February 1817 – d. Copenhagen, 21.December 1890)

(1858)

Preface
Niels Wilhelm Gade is considered the most influential Danish musician of the 19th century, who made a name for himself as a composer and conductor. He was born into a family of guitar and piano makers and worked in his father’s workshop at a young age. However, the music itself inspired him more, and soon Gade was accepted as a violin student at the Royal Chapel. He was later taught by the internationally renowned violinist Fr Wexschall. This intimate knowledge of the violin stood him in good stead in his concert career, when he played chamber music in Leipzig with Felix Mendelssohn and the conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Ferdinand David. Gade’s teacher in composition and theory was the composer A.P. Bergbreen. His great interest was in one of the most popular musical topics of the time, the old Danish folk songs, which he believed reflected the Danish and Nordic folk spirit. It was his idea that composers should learn from the particular sound of folk songs, and his activities included the publication of four volumes of European folk songs. In 1836 a new musical institution was founded in Copenhagen, the Musikverein, which played an influential role throughout the century. Its aim was primarily the publication of Danish music, but arranging concert quickly became the main focus of the association. The most influential figures of the culturally interested middle classe were members of the Musikverein, and through the subscription concerts they could listen to the orchestras of Denmark and the other Scandinavian countries. The association’s desire to promote classical music led, among other things, to a competition for an overture being announced in 1840. It was won by Niels W. Gade with his composition Nachklänge aus Ossian, the main theme of which was based on a Danish folk song. Suddenly Gade became a famous figure in Danish cultural life.

The next major work from Gade’s hand was the First Symphony. The work was premiered in 1843 at one of the famous Gewandhaus concerts in Leipzig under the direction of Mendelssohn, who had become acquainted with Gade through the publication of the Nachklänge aus Ossian overture and through personal Danish connections. The German composer wrote to Gade very enthusiastically about this work on the symphony, which became a great success.

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