Niels Wilhelm Gade, a Danish composer, conductor, and teacher of the mid-nineteenth century, enjoyed a lengthy and successful musical career. Gade's theory teacher was Andreas Peter Berggreen, a composer who believed in establishing and preserving a "musical identity" for Denmark by arranging and publishing authentic Danish folk songs. While Gade acknowledged the importance of a clearly defined national style, his own work is deeply entrenched in the German Romantic tradition: echoes of late Schubert, Schumann, and especially, Felix Mendelssohn, one of Gade's greatest champions. So close was the relationship of the two composers that Gade became principal conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra following Mendelssohn's death in 1847.

Initially rejected by the Copenhagen Music Society, Symphony No. 1 (the first of eight symphonies) found an ardent supporter in Mendelssohn who conducted its first performance in Leipzig. Several Danish folk songs are utilized as thematic material throughout the four movements. Moderato con moto—Allegro energico starts solemnly, then breaks into a dramatic, confident dotted rhythm, much like Schumann. With the Scherzo: Allegro risoluto quasi presto, one cannot help but be reminded of Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Symphony No. 4 "Italian." The Andantino grazioso is extremely Mendelssohnian with its beautifully sustained melody. The Finale: Molto allegro ma con fuoco is infectious in its exuberance and admirable for its skillful thematic development. Related melodic material is used in each movement, giving the work a strong sense of unity, an important feature of the Romantic style.

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