2025 marks the 100th anniversary of Tango Jalousie—Jacob Gade's most famous work and one of the most frequently performed pieces of Danish music. The work was originally titled Jalousie – tango tzigane and was composed in 1925 to accompany the silent film Don Q, starring Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Astor. The tango quickly gained international recognition for its rhythmic vitality and sweeping melodic style.

Born in Vejle in 1879, Gade began his career as a violinist in Copenhagen playing at restaurants, hotels and theatres before traveling to the United States in 1919. Here he auditioned for and played in the orchestra that would become the New York Philharmonic and also made a living as a cinema musician. Though he returned to Denmark after only two years, the experience left a lasting mark. Appointed conductor at the Palads Theatre and its orchestra of 21 people, he composed Tango Jalousie for live cinema performance—unaware that it would go on to achieve global fame.

To mark the centenary, Edition Wilhelm Hansen presents orchestral versions of Tango Jalousie as well as a selection of Gade’s orchestral works that reveal his legacy as a composer of lyrical and film-influenced concert music—ideal for themed programming, light classical series, and Nordic repertoire.

 

Tango Jalousie (1925) 4 min. -  3.2.2.2/4.2.3.1/timp.perc/strings
Version for full orchestra. Bold and sweeping music. A score suitable for symphonic programming.

 

Tango Fantasia (2009) 6 min. - 2.1.1.1/2.2.2.1/timp.harp/strings
Version of Tango Jalousie arranged for flute and orchestra.

 

Intermezzo Lyrique (1940) 3 min. - 2.2.2.2/4.2.3.1/timp.harp.pf/strings
Composed in 1940, this short orchestral work features lyrical scoring and a moderate scale, making it suitable as a concert opener or interlude.

 

Suite d’Amour (1940) 11 min. - 2.2.2.2/4.2.3.1/timp.perc.pf/strings
A suite in three movements with for a larger orchestra with accessible orchestration and wonderful melodic writing.

 

Romanesca, Tango (1940) 4 min. 44 sec. - 2.0.1.3.2/2.0.1.0/timp.vib/pf/str
Another stylized tango with an impressive violin cadenza at the beginning.

 

Copenhagen Life (Københavnerliv, 1938) - 2.2.2.2/4.2.3.0/perc.pf/strings
Originally the work was subtitled ‘Viennese Waltz’ and the work is recalls the forms of waltzes by Lehar. Orchestrated for a larger orchestra and was probably used for a play.

 

Jacob Gade Grant

Jacob Gade’s legacy lives on through the Jacob Gade Grant, one of Denmark’s most significant music scholarships. Funded by royalties from Tango Jalousie and other works, the grant supports young musicians in their education and early careers. Past recipients include Michala Petri, Michael Schønwandt, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Thomas Dausgaard, and Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider.

The centenary of Tango Jalousie offers an opportunity to rediscover Jacob Gade—not only as the composer of a global tango hit, but as a versatile orchestral writer whose music reflects the intersection of cinema, dance, and European popular tradition.

 

Explore the orchestral music of Jacob Gade on Spotify