Niels Gade (born February 22, 1817,Copenhagen, Denmark—died December 21, 1890, Copenhagen) was a Danish composer who founded theRomanticnationalist school in Danishmusic.

Gade studiedviolin andcomposition and became acquainted with Danish poetry andfolk music. BothMendelssohn andSchumann, who were his friends, were attracted by the Scandinavian character of his music. Schumann wrote of him in theNeue Zeitschrift für Musik, and in 1843 Mendelssohn conducted Gade’s firstsymphony inLeipzig. Gade conducted in Leipzig from 1844 to 1848 and became conductor of the Copenhagen Musical Society in 1850. In 1866 he became a director of the new Copenhagen Conservatory. Gade’s early works, reflecting the spirit of Danish folk tunes, were among the first 19th-century examples of the use of native musicalidioms and nationalist themes. Under the influence of Mendelssohn, his later works show greater technical command, often at the expense of the style that had made his earlier works attractive. Hiscompositions include the overturesEchoes from Ossian (published as Opus 1) andIn the Highlands; the cantatasZion, The Crusaders, andPsyche; eight symphonies; three ballets; a violin concerto; a string quartet; and other works.