Classical Music

Classical Music

Mendelssohn' successor as the music director of the famous Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and a close friend of Joachim and the Schumann's, the Danish conductor and composer Niels Wilhelm Gade melded Nordic spirit.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

The last volume of our series of Gade recordings based on the new critical edition of his complete oeuvre, once again includes chamber works with a long and complicated history of composition inasmuch as Gade often submitted his earlier works to later revisions – as was the case with his String Quartet No. 1 and String Quintet op. 8. He composed the latter work between his second and third symphonies and around the same time as the cantata Comala. The results clearly show that he wrote the quintet at a time when he had not yet abandoned the national Romantic ideas of his young years, even though he was already in Leipzig. On the one hand, the quintet is not based on any sort of programmatic or textual background. On the other hand, Gade had not yet assimilated the Classical-Romantic style including the independence from the Classical sonata form that would so clearly be reflected in his last chamber works. His Fantasy Pieces op. 43 and elegant character pieces are all more or less designed in a complex song form – however, with a texture that in almost all cases consists of a leading melody part in the clarinet and an accompaniment in the piano.

"Gade’s chamber music is marvelously written and does not deserve to disappear into the footnotes of musical historiography. The Ensemble MidVest is completely committed to Gade’s cause and performs these works recorded in perfect balance with an open naturalness showing his music in the most favorable light." This is how FonoForum reviewed Vol. 2 of our Gade recordings based on the new historical-critical complete edition of his works. The compositional history of many of these works is long and complicated because he often submitted his earlier works to later revisions. One exception is his String Quartet of 1851, the first complete quartet of his authorship. It is not known why he later distanced himself from this composition inasmuch as it is distinguished by a expressivity stronger than that encountered in his later works. With his one-movement Quintet in F minor he created a work comparable in expression and form to the one-movement dramatic concert overtures with which he had occupied himself ever since his earliest youth.

Composer Niels Gade ( 1817-1890) is considered to be the most influential Danish musician of his time. He was also a successful teacher, conductor, violinist, and organist. This release is the second volume in the exploration of Gade’s chamber music, and includes his String Quartet in E minor with extra movements, the first movement of a Piano Trio in B-flat major, and Scherzo in C sharp minor for Piano Quintet. “Even in the intricate texture the individual voices remain transparent; the focus on what is essential is more important than everything experimental. The MidtVest ensemble relies on flowing lines, not on leaden ritardandi, on well-rounded formulations instead of roughly delineated blocks.” (FonoForum of Vol. 1).

Recorded in: Danish Radio Concert Hall, Copenhagen 10 April 2001 (Echoes of Ossian), 17 & 18 August 2001 (Symphony No. 3, incl. discarded first movement), 14 & 19 Novemer 2001 (Symphony No. 6) Producer(s) Preben Iwan (Symphony No. 3, incl. discarded first movement) Chris Hazell (other works) Sound Engineer(s) Jørn Jacobsen

The obvious thing would be to say that if you love Schumann and Brahms, you'll enjoy these sonatas by Danish composer Niels Gade. You'll also be entertained if you like your ear tweaked by occasional riffs suggestive of Beethoven or even Richard Strauss (yes, I know, Strauss essentially came after Gade, but listen to the opening theme of the Sonata No. 3, or to the melody in the Sonata No. 2 finale, and see what you think!). Although written over a period of more than 40 years and showing some (small) stylistic differences, these sonatas are all similarly vigorous, exuberant works that invite the utmost expressive energy (and not a little technical savvy!) from the two performers. In the long-distant days when I studied the violin my teachers never would have suggested such pieces for devoted study--why waste your time on anything but the real Brahms or Beethoven? But my reply would now be: why not give serious attention to Gade's sonatas, all of which are very well-written for the violin (Gade was a violinist) and sound like they would be at least as much fun to play as Brahms or Beethoven?

These works have been rarely recorded, undeservedly so, and the performances here--by Christina Åstrand, who has made excellent recordings of concertos by Emil Hartmann for this same label, Ligeti, and Nørgård, and her pianist partner Per Salo (who also appears on Dacapo in Hartmann's Piano Concerto)--match the vigor and exuberance inherent in Gade's scores. The sound, especially for the violin, is somewhat close, and so is less vibrant and resonant as it might be. There is nothing new or unusual here--just some readily accessible, enlivening Classical/Romantic-style music that's artfully, skillfully, sympathetically played. Again, if you enjoy Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schumann...

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com