NEW MUSIC AND VIDEO KLIP 2011

Niels Wilhelm Gade
Symphonies Vol.3
Danish NSO, Christopher Hogwood
Chandos CHAN 9795

Niels Gade may not have been a particularly original personality, but his music is well made and though conservative, gives hints of more interesting things to come. For example, both the relaxed third movement of his Third Symphony and its rugged counterpart in the Sixth strikingly anticipate the "non-scherzos" of Nielsen's Second and Third Symphonies, respectively. Symphony No. 6 begins and ends in a minor key--very unexpected at any period--and its wild finale should put to rest rumors of Gade's invariable tameness. The same holds true of the Third Symphony's opening movement, which was completely replaced on revision. Christopher Hogwood's thoughtful inclusion of the composer's somewhat stodgy and repetitious first efforts show him successfully working to increase thematic interest, rhythmic tension, and dramatic flow (the final version is not only quicker, but arrives at a surprise ending, pizzicato, as in the opening movement of Sibelius' First Symphony).

In fact, the only work here that betrays any specifically "Nordic" coloring is the earliest piece of all, the overture Echoes of Ossian (Op. 1), which features some aptly "bardic" horn writing and a lovely harp part. Still, there's much more to these symphonies than "faux-Mendelssohn", and the credit for making this fact so evident goes entirely to Hogwood, who conducts really splendid performances. His period instrument work clearly puts him in good stead here, even as his stature as a conductor of music of all eras continues to impress. He has the timpanist use hard sticks and makes sure that wind and brass parts cut cleanly through the string textures (crucial in the outer movement especially), but he's not afraid to linger over a phrase now and again, as at the opening of the Third Symphony's very pretty Andante.

Unlike Järvi (BIS), who has a chamber orchestra, or the rhythmically mushier and less clearly recorded Schonwandt (Dacapo), Hogwood dispatches the music's neo-classical elements with the necessary verve while still leaving room for aptly rich string textures and the occasional rush of Romantic ardor. Excellent sonics round out a disc that, when all is said and done, offers the best versions currently available of these works. If you haven't taken to Gade, these performances might change your mind, and if you've been hesitating to take the plunge, then start here.

David Hurwitz, Classics Today.com