Symphonic
The Danish Golden Age 200th Anniversary Concert for Niels W. Gade
CONCERT IN SYMPHONY SPACE
New York Scandia Symphony has served the communities of New York City with innovative and creative programs of Scandinavian music for the past 28 years, sharing the musical treasures and cultural heritage of Scandinavia with American audiences. Music Director and Conductor Dorrit Matson led the orchestra in a program titled “The Danish Golden Age” celebrating Danish composer Niels W. Gade in this 200th Anniversary year of his birth in 1817
The concert featured 50 of New York City’s finest musicians and Violinist Stephanie Chase in a performance of some of the most extraordinary music created during this very unique chapter in Danish cultural history: The “Echoes of Ossian” Overture, “Symphony No. 2” and the “Violin Concerto” Opus 56 by Niels W. Gade.
Niels W. Gade (1817–1890) participated in the development of Musikforeningen (the Music Society) which had been founded in 1836 with the purpose of extending and improving the understanding of classical music. He became its conductor in 1850, and under his management a number of masterpieces of choral music were given their first performance in Denmark, among them Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in 1875.[21] At the conservatory in Copenhagen, Gade helped teach future generations, including Edvard Grieg and Carl Nielsen. In the spirit of Romantic nationalism, he composed eight symphonies, a violin concerto, chamber music, organ and piano pieces and a number of large-scale cantatas, among them Elverskud, the most famous Danish work of its time.
