# SS 11.04.20 - Gade #5



## cougarjuno (Jul 1, 2012)

A continuation of the Saturday Symphonies Tradition:

Welcome to another weekend of symphonic listening!

For your listening pleasure this weekend:

Niels Wilhelm Gade (1817 – 1890)

Symphony #5 in D Minor, op. 25

1. Allegro con fuoco
2. Andante sostenuto
3. Scherzo: Allegro molto vivace
4. Finale: Andante con moto - Allegro vivvace
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Post what recording you are going to listen to giving details of Orchestra / Conductor / Chorus / Soloists etc - Enjoy!


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## cougarjuno (Jul 1, 2012)

I suppose the holiday season may prevent realdealblues from making this week's choice. Let's go with Niels Gade and his Symphony #5. I listen to Gade every now and again and enjoy his music. Although this Danish composer is strictly in the German Romantic tradition, and somewhat Mendelssohnian, I find his music rewarding. I believe there are several recordings of this work which is unique for its time as it features the piano. I'll go with the Neeme Jarvi conducting the Stockholm Sinfonietta


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## Simplicissimus (Feb 3, 2020)

I don’t have this work on CD but I want to follow along with the discussion this week, so I am going the Youtube route. I found Christopher Hogwood conducting the Danish National Symphony Orchestra with Ronald Brautigam as piano soloist. It sounds like Mendelssohn and Schumann (as everybody says). Interesting and enjoyable choice!


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## D Smith (Sep 13, 2014)

Thanks for filling in cougarjuno. I'll listen to Copenhagen Collegium Musicum, Michael Schonwandt & Amalie Malling.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

I will try this, don't have it otherwise .


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## Mika (Jul 24, 2009)

From spotify


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I'll go with Hogwood.


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

Mika said:


> View attachment 133538
> 
> From spotify


Same for me also


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## DaddyGeorge (Mar 16, 2020)

I listened to Symphony #2 yesterday with Hogwood, so I will go with Järvi today...


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## DaddyGeorge (Mar 16, 2020)

^^^^^^^^^^
Sorry, wrong cover...


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I'm also with this one ...









Actually, a fine Romantic symphony (or is it a piano concerto?) and nicely restrained - it never overstays its welcome.


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## Joachim Raff (Jan 31, 2020)

I would class it as a piano symphony. I love Gade's music because of his beautiful melodies, so easy to get on with. Nothing offensive or crude. It does not require vasts amounts of scrutiny because its pure and simple musical content. Here is nice thread written by a good friend.

_"I have written about this before on CMG, but I had occasion to, once again, feast the aural joys of Niels W. Gade's (1817-1890) Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 25 [1852]. What a revelation from this composer, whose notariety should be the equal of Edvard Grieg! If ever a symphonic composition with a piano "obbligato" part could be considered a "piano concerto," this might be it. It may not have the pianistic majesty of Brahms's piano concertos, which some perceive to be symphonies with necessary and exquisite piano parts, but on its own, the Gade is a striking composition and unique in its own individual way.

The Fifth Symphony was composed as a wedding gift to Gade's wife. He wrote it rather "mysteriously," wanting to surprise her. As Mogens Wenzel Andreasen notes, "the symphony may be the very first symphony in the history of music using a concertante piano throughout all four movements. It is not a piano concerto (Gade never wrote such a thing), but the piano part nevertheless demands pretty much of the pianist." Despite the minor key, which often implies a "darker" work, the Fifth Symphony is a fresh, joyful, and youthful work, both vigorous and tuneful.

The work is available on Dacapo/Marco Polo [DCCD 9004], coupled with the Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 15 [1846-47] performed by Collegium Musicum, Copenhagen with Michael Schwönwandt, conductor. In the Fifth Symphony, a wonderful pianist named Amalie Malling adds considerably to the beauty of the work with her extraordinary pianism.

I often think that if I could win a $250 million lottery, I would build a 1,000-seat concert hall and pay artists to come and play forgotten repertoire such as this! Ah, the wonder of having recordings! Music such as Gade's should not be forgotten."_
Lance G. Hill


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

I can add little to the excellent post above, other thN to say I will now explore the rest of the Jarvi symphony set
Another good addition to the Saturday Symphony tradition


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

KenOC said:


> I'll go with Hogwood.


I tried the same disc via Qobuz.
First listen to this Symphony/Composer for me - inoffensive, decent but not overly memorable are my first impressions.


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## MrMeatScience (Feb 15, 2015)

I've been listening along the last few weeks but not posting. I enjoyed this one enough to draw me out of lurking! I've heard good things about Gade, but I had only ever listened to his Octet before this. I'll be checking out the rest of his symphonies (with Jarvi). Thanks for posting this one, a great discovery for me.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I was not familiar with this work, and listened to the Hogwood recording.

There seems to be little surprising here, except the very prominent and active piano part, which is more than just a part of the orchestra but less than a real concerto role. My program notes speculate that Gade came by this idea from the series of Concertos symphoniques for piano and orchestra that Henry Litolff had begun in the 1840s – of which we remember just one movement today.

Be that as it may, the symphony is in standard four-movement form and is very well turned out. The composer was obviously a top-flight professional. The “fit and finish” of this music is certainly superior to his contemporary Berwald and possibly even better than that of another contemporary, Schumann.

Unfortunately, the quality of his musical ideas, and of all those other attributes that “grab” us, that fix the music in our heads, and that make us want to hear it again, are short of the levels achieved by either of those two contemporaries. That’s not a slam, since I can’t think of a symphonist of those years who could measure up to Berwald and Schumann – except for Mendelssohn of course.

I did enjoy listening to this, but probably will be in no hurry to hear it again soon. All in all, a welcome choice for SS as an introduction to the very listenable music of an unfamiliar composer.


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## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

The Gade's most interesting symphonies are the 1, 2, 6 and 8 IMO. I'm afraid the others are too bland and few exciting/original.


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