Niels W. Gade

Danish composer Niels W. Gade (1817-1890).
An important influence on a number of later Scandinavian composers, he encouraged and taught both Edvard Grieg and Carl Nielsen, as well as lesser figures such as Otto Malling and Asger Hamerik.
Among Gade's works are eight symphonies, a violin concerto, chamber music, organ and piano pieces and a number of large-scale cantatas, Comala (1846) and Elverskud (1853) amongst them, which he called koncertstykker ("concert pieces"). These products of Romantic nationalism are sometimes based on Danish folklore.