I am tempted to purchase the two symphonies and two violin concertos by Eduard Franck which have been released on the Audite label. Does anyone have these. Critical comments would be helpful
Enjoyable but not exciting Mendelssohnian music. His pieces are never over-long for their material and are melodically memorable but harmonically, structurally and in terms of their orchestration they are pretty conventional for their time.
Conventional stuff, as Mark says, although I think the Symphony in A major, with its opening high-lying horn writing is something rather special, I must say. And EF can always conjure up a good tune. Go for them before they disappear!
Hrm..
I have heard one movement from one work of his- the scherzo from his E-flat major string quartet (from one of those CDs), broadcast on a Belgian radio station (then taped inexpertly by me for re-listening so I haven't even been hearing all of that movement.) But I've been enjoying it very much each time- not original, but witty, well-done, and welcome (in mood, instrumental treatment, etc.) (If you had more time, Radio Stephansdom - www.radiostephansdom.at , a good station which webstreams - out of Austria does, though I haven't caught this yet, broadcast some of his symphonies once in awhile.)
I find his symphonies quite lovely, actually - pretty mainstream for their time, nothing life-changing, but cleanly orchestrated and tuneful. Much preferable, in my view, to the gaseous orchestral ponderosities of his namesake Cesar.
I have a soft spot for old César, but realise that he's not to everyone's taste. Actually I've been listening to EF's A major Symphony, Op.47 and must admit that it is rather a nice piece with some quite lovely writing and occasionally an almost Brahmsian generosity of expression. Original? Not really. Worthy of revival? Definitely! And the performance by the Saarbrücken Radio SO is very fine indeed; add to that a spacious recording and it's a recipe for a great CD.
There are also 2 PCs which I hope someone will record before long (the second in MS). I have score and parts of No. 1 and a photocopy of the MS of No. 2, all of which I have copied to Mike Spring. Fingers crossed.
well, if César Franck has to enter this discussion (and maybe he must), my favorite work of his has always been the string quartet in D (sometimes reviewed with many of the same adjectives, it's true), not the symphony... I'm intrigued by those (Eduard) Franck piano concertos; best with that!
I actually found his E minor violin concerto very beautiful ... Yes the affinity to Mendelssohn is there but I think its unfair to compare every E minor concerto to Mendelssohn.
Other than the two violin concertos what other concertos has he written any other concertos?
the only three published concertos I know of (HMB, Wikipedia) are the violin concertos and the opus 13 for piano and orchestra ( in D minor , pub 1850)- and earlier in the thread a 2nd pf. concerto in MS has been mentioned.
The Audite label seem to be issuing quite a number of cd's of music by both Eduard and his son Richard 1858-1938. No sign of any piano concertos, Gareth, perhaps this is where you might send your scores.
While we are on the subject of Franks, there has been no mention of Cesare's brother Joseph!
When I contacted Audite a few years back when these recordings started to appear they couldn't even be bothered to reply to my letter about the piano concertos.
Shame about that, it is just damn bad manners on Audite's part.
they are from the Audite recordings btw but sound samples of some of his chamber works can be found at editionsilvertrust.com - e.g. 2nd string quartet (http://www.editionsilvertrust.com/franck-e-string-quartet-2.htm) (MS, Eflat, ca.1870)
Well, here's some interesting news. I've just heard a rumour that James Tocco is about to record the 2 Franck PCs (don't know the orchestra, or the label, but given that he recorded the Violin Sonatas with Christiane Edinger for Audite I wouldn't expect it to be a different one). Let us await developments.
Hi Gareth,
Do you mean C.Franck's PCs or did E.Franck write 2? I've always been lead to believe that C.Franck's 1st piano concerto was lost - does this mean someone has found it? (I hope so!)
Incidentally, I have E.Franck's 2 violin sonatas on CD (coupled with a Mendelssohn violin sonata) and they are lovely works.
I mean Eduard Franck's concertos. Sorry, I ignored the digression about Cesar.
The Eduard Franck concertos will be something I will realy look forward to.
I've never heard music from Eduard Franck. After reading all the posts I've just decided to order both Audite CDs.
Could be another trouvaille, Peter!
Indeed, Alan ;). I've just listened to all the audio samples. Very worthwhile. The slow movements must be wonderful, especially the adagio of the Symphony op. 52 and the middle movement of the 2nd VC.
I've listened to both CD's twice. Definitely not a trouvaille. It is very safe music. No one who likes music of the 19th century will dislike it. But inventive, memorable tunes? I don't think so. No surprises, nothing what other average composers already have composed. However, there are some beautiful moments, like the adagio of the 2nd Symphony. Maybe his chamber music is more adventurous.
Well, this Franck will give you certainly some pleasant listening hours, although I cannot recommend both CD's as a must-buy. How different César F. is...
Give the A major symphony another try, Peter. It's extremely generous music, I find...
You are right, Alan. I'm listening to this symphony at this very moment.
What a most striking resemblance between the openings of the slow movements of Franck's VC 1 (1855) and Raff's VC 2 (1877). It must be a coincidence, I suppose.
I'll have to check them when I get back home. I don't know when the Franck was premiered, but there's no reason why Raff shouldn't have heard it I guess, although plagiarism isn't one of the accusations usually aimed at him.
In Cologne sometime around May 1855 (I assume this was the premiere; an early performance anyway), according to a contemporary (undated?) report in Neue Berliner Musikzeitung, 6 Juni 1855 issue page 180 (the report right above it from another city is dated 30. Mai.)
quick attempt at transcription of Google's scan:
Wir hörten hier in der musikalischen Gesellschaft ein Concert für die Violine, componirt von Eduard Franck und vortrefflich gespielt von Hrn. Theodor Pixis. Dieses Werk, aus 3 Sätzen bestehend, gereicht dem Componisten zur grössten Ehre und darf allen in neuester Zeit erschienenen Compositionen dieses Genres kühn zur Seite gestellt werden.
Thanks, Eric. Always an absolute mine of information. So, I guess Raff might easily have heard it, or seen the score.
anyhow, I think plagiarism has the connotation if not the denotation of intentionality?
Anyone know of any other substantial E. Franck scores in MS (oratorios, ...) not yet recorded, etc. (that would probably cover most or all of them- his E-flat string quartet, I gather from the page on it at Edition Silvertrust, was not published until just recently, and I'd count it as substantial by my standards at least compared to a lot of the music I've been skimming lately... it's no longer just in M.S. but only just so (but it has been recorded)... and there's the other piano concerto; that leaves other works...
just heard on the radio (Radio Stephansdom (http://www.radiostephansdom.at)- not a local station for me- well across the Atlantic, but it webstreams) this morning the recording of one of the piano quartets by not Eduard but his son Richard Franck for the first time, I think. Suited me :)
Eduard Franck's music is really very lovely, especially his Symphony in A major. Watch out for an interesting development elsewhere at UC...
The fact that Hans Franke plagiarised Eduard Franck's Symphony in A has led me to give it another couple of listens after years of leaving the CD standing on the shelf. And doing so has reinforced my view that the composer had a genuinely exceptional gift for lyrical writing; it is true that the idiom is very much in the Mendelssohn-Schumann mould, but what marks him out, I think, is the sheer beauty of the writing. In the Symphony the writing for horns - and also the bassoon - is quite individual (can anyone name a symphony which opens with such high-lying writing for the French horn?) So, I think on reflection that there is more to Franck than I had hitherto remembered.
And there's another aspect to Eduard Franck's music: the Symphony doesn't ever really 'move' with either the athleticism of Mendelssohn or the vigour of Schumann. And he's definitely light-years away from Raff's typical symphonic dynamism. In fact, he 'moves' more like Brahms (think in particular of the latter's 2nd Symphony). Franck, in other words, has a 'heavier tread'.
If you've never heard Franck's A major Symphony, it can be heard on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAEPv4Bh_rU&t=643s
Sorry - but I am confused.
Franck's Symphony in Bb is listed as his Op.52 (which is what I have on the Audite CD) - however, the YouTube reference captions it as the A Major instead.
I thought his A Major Symphony was Op. 47.
Huh?
You are correct. The YouTube link is to Franck's A major Symphony; however, the caption is wrong - it should read "Op.47"
Quote from: Alan Howe on Wednesday 27 March 2024, 12:54You are correct. The YouTube link is to Franck's A major Symphony; however, the caption is wrong - it should read "Op.47"
Thanks.
Both of Franck's recorded symphones are hugely enjoyable works; what they also share is a certain, almost muscular, confidence.
Chronologically, the A major and Bb major symphonies are Franck's Symphonies No. 4 and 5. There seem to be various dates floating around, from the late 1850s (IMSLP) to 1882/1883 (German Wikipedia), and it is not entirely clear which one was written first. For me, the A major feels the more "senior" of the two, but of course that doesn't mean much.
There are three earlier symphonies in A minor, G minor and B major written in the 1840s and 1850s but they are listed as "verschollen" (lost). Does anyone know more about them and how "lost" they are exactly?
No idea, unfortunately. The three 'lost' symphonies are:
Symphony in A minor (1846)
Symphony in G minor (1852/1856)
Symphony in B flat (1858) - not B major
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Franck#Orchesterwerke_und_Konzerte
IMSLP's listing does give interesting composition dates for the two extant symphonies, however:
Symphony in A, Op.47: 1860?
Symphony in B flat, Op.52: 1856
https://imslp.org/wiki/List_of_works_by_Eduard_Franck
This positions them both in the so-called Dahlhaus Gap, between Schumann 4 and Brahms 1.
I have ordered this book in order to try and find out more information:
'Die Komponisten Eduard und Richard Franck - Leben und Werk, Dokumente, Quellen'
('The Composers Eduard and Richard Franck - Life and Work, Documents, Sources')
https://www.booklooker.de/app/detail.php?aktionID=34577198&setMediaType=0
May I also remind friends of this excellent extended article on Franck at MusicWeb?>>>
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2018/Mar/FranckE_article.pdf
Quote from: Ilja on Wednesday 27 March 2024, 18:35from the late 1850s (IMSLP) to 1882/1883 (German Wikipedia)
There's the problem of giving a composition date or a publication date. I think for most of his compositions, the dates from 1880s and 1890s are publishing dates.
That's certainly correct for some of Franck's compositions. This listing may help:
https://imslp.org/wiki/List_of_works_by_Eduard_Franck
And for anyone who thinks that Franck was an unadventurous composer, try this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gBALvBpL0I
Regarding Franck's 'lost' symphonies, I have consulted the biography by Paul and Andreas Feuchte who give the following details:
Symphony in A minor (1846): performed in Berlin on 30th November 1846 and discussed in various music journals. Apparently Mendelssohn wrote Franck a letter in which he rejected the possibility of a performance in Leipzig. There is no mention of the score's current whereabouts.
Symphony in G minor (1852/56): unpublished and 'nicht mehr auffindbar'. i.e. untraceable. Franck himself conducted the first performance on 12th February 1856 in Cologne and a further performance was given on 18th February 1860 in Bern. Interestingly, it is apparently discussed at length, including musical examples, in the Niederrheinische Musik-Zeitung of 8th and 15th March 1856.
Symphony in B flat (1858): also unpublished and 'nicht mehr auffindbar', i.e. untraceable. A Symphony in B flat was evidently given its first performance on 26th January 1858 in Cologne. There is a discussion in the Rheinische Musikzeitung für Kunstfreunde und Künstler of 30th January 1858.
Whether this is the same work as the Symphony in B flat, Op.52 is an unresolved question.
Quote from: Alan Howe on Wednesday 10 April 2024, 13:03Symphony in G minor (1852/56): unpublished and 'nicht mehr auffindbar'. i.e. untraceable. Franck himself conducted the first performance on 12th February 1856 in Cologne and a further performance was given on 18th February 1860 in Bern. Interestingly, it is apparently discussed at length, including musical examples, in the Niederrheinische Musik-Zeitung of 8th and 15th March 1856.
The article to those interested is here (with musical examples at the end of part 2):
March 8 (part 1) (https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnabi18560308-01.2.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------)
March 15 (part 2) (https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnabi18560315-01.2.2&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------)
Thanks very much, Tuomas, for locating these articles and musical examples. If only the score/parts could be found...