If the name of Danish composer Niels Gade doesn't immediately ring a bell, you're not likely alone. While his music was highly respected during his own time, it is now infrequently performed, and his name is more closely associated with whom he kept company; he was Mendelssohn's successor at the Gewandhaus and teacher to both Grieg and Nielsen. The majority of his compositions were heavily influenced by the Germanic school of Romanticism, with only subtle whispers of his own Nordic heritage. The three sonatas for violin and piano heard on this Centaur album illustrate this point; their measures are filled with the inspiration of Mendelssohn, Schuman, and even Beethoven. Far from being overtly virtuosic, the sonatas rely instead on long (often too long) melodic lines and extensive motivic repetition. The piano parts, which are largely secondary to the violin, frequently employ racing arpeggios and inner voice filigree. The result? Works that were clearly inspired by the grand masters of the time, but clearly not on the same level of originality or refinement. Violinist Katie Wolfe and pianist Adrienne Kim, however, make the very best of Gade's music in these convincing, enthusiastic performances. Wolfe's tone is honey sweet, particularly in the velvety middle register of her instrument; the interaction between violin and piano is tight and balance allows the violin to be clearly audible throughout.
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