Dear all, our forum member @UnsungMasterworks has created a digital rendition of the last entirely unidentified symphony by Hans Franke: YouTube Link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYry7mqiSEU).
Over the past months, I think I've seen every more-or-less traditional Russian G minor symphony published between 1860 and 1930. Well, clearly not every one since we haven't been able to trace this to its original composer. As much as it attempts to sound like a Belyayev School pastiche, it seems obvious that this is an (early) 20th century work; the harmonies and instrumentation feel too advanced in places for an earlier origin. It also seems obvious that this is not a collage like the "5th symphony"; it very much feels like a coherent (if not always very accomplished) composition.
It's not nearly as good as some of Franke's earlier pilferings; one gets the sense that post-war Franke simply stumbled upon this and decided to appropriate it. To be fair, it's theoretically possible that he was the author, but his reputation suggests a different conclusion. It's quite late in his "oeuvre", supposedly having been finished in mid-1962, when he was 80 years old.
Franke lived in Darmstadt at this time, and his flight from the Soviet occupation zone (the later GDR) and his erstwhile Nazi Party membership prevented him from accessing sources in East Germany. So we should probably look for the origin of this work in or around the Frankfurt area of West Germany. Of course, if he appropriated a manuscript instead of a published work, and removed the original, that drastically narrows the chances of finding the original composer.
Still, I hope members will bring their extensive knowledge of obscure repertory to the table, and may recognize the piece. If so, please let us/me know, either in the forum or by DM.
I assume that for orchestral works at least and for practical reasons he probably didn't transpose his originals.
Also, your title says 1862, which is a mite confusing.
Thank you, now corrected. The whole thing is more than a mite confusing.
Thankfully, our Hans was a lazy plagiarist who copied the music quite literally.
Quote from: Ilja on Tuesday 29 September 2026, 21:48(if not always very accomplished) composition.
It certainly isn't. Not up to the standard of the Eduard Franck, Kauffmann or Alban Foerster symphonies for example. I wonder if it's a student work? Maybe there'd be something in the archives of Frankfurt's Hoch Konservatorium or University library?
Very curious.
To me, it sounded like the work of an emigre, maybe living after the Great War in Germany, and I would have dated it around 1930., or even slightly later. There were some modernistic half-minutes in the otherwise conservative finale that put me in mind, not of a student, but someone of the school of Grechaninov .
That's a direction I've been looking into: we could easily eliminate Vasylenko (and others), but the situation in the emigré scene is quite a bit more complicated. In Paris, you have people like Vladimir Pohl, Nikolai Lopatnikoff or even Jean Catoire that might have deviated from their usual style and composed a more backward-looking, nostalgic work, even if that's a bit unlikely. The records here are, unfortunately, rather inaccessible because often the works are still under copyright.
Quote from: Ilja on Tuesday 29 September 2026, 21:48I think I've seen every more-or-less traditional Russian G minor symphony published between 1860 and 1930. o
Could you, please, list those you've seen to narrow down the search
Fair point; here's the list:
1. Obviously disqualified:
- Pyotr Tchaikovsky, No. 1, Op. 13, Winter Daydreams; 1866
- Anton Rubinstein, No. 5, Op. 107; 1880
- Vasily Kalinnikov, No. 1; 1894–1895
- Nikolai Myaskovsky, No. 12, Op. 35; 1931–1932
- Witold Maliszewski (1873–1939) No. 1, Op. 8; 1902
- Alexander Grechaninov, No. 5, Op. 153; 1936–1937
- Dmitri Shostakovich, No. 11, Op. 103, The Year 1905; 1957
2. Checked and disqualified:
- Sergei Vasilenko (1872–1956) No. 1, Op. 10; 1904–1906
- Vladimir Sokalsky, Symphony in G minor; 1894
- Yuliya Veysberg / Julia Weissberg, also Rimskaya-Korsakova (1878/80–1942) Symphony, Op. 4 1908–1910. Haven't seen the score, but the composition, bar and page sizes make this quite unlikely.
- Gavriil Popov, No. 2, Op. 39, Motherland; 1943
- Gavriil Popov, No. 3, Op. 45, Heroic; 1939–1946
- Vassily Kalafati, early Symphony in G minor (1899?). Contacted Hellenic Library, they don't have it. Very likely a case of confusion with the Kalinnikov
- Julius Bleichmann, mentioned but eliminated because the only one I've found is in A major
- Nikolai Iwanowitsch Kasanli, eliminated because in F minor
- Yuli Ivanovich Bleichman, Symphony seems to be B minor. Needs confirmation though
3. Candidates but haven't been able to check:
- Arkady Dubensky, Symphony in G minor (1916), Old-fashioned according to testimony, not eliminated but unable to trace. Written to NY Phil, no response of any significance. Probably way too short, though if it even ever existed as a complete work; NYPhO records are unclear.
- Vasyl Barvinsky, Symphony (1908?). Old-fashioned, not eliminated but unable to trace. Written to NY Phil, no response of any significance. The symphony may not ever have existed, or may have disappeared as part of the burning of Barvinsky's work, or may have somehow escaped the burning and migrated to the FRG. No way to tell until a score shows up.
- Vassily Kühner, G minor symphony. Not much known (tip from Vitaly).
4. More remote possibilities:
- Fyodor Akimenko, may have written a symphony but that's all I know. Style and period fits, though.
- Alexander Ivanovich Vyshnegradsky, Symphony in G minor? Not sure this exists.
- Alexander Ilyinsky, possible he wrote a symphony but I've been unable to find out much more.
- Karel Navrátil, Symphony in G minor, 1902. Not impossible, but stylistically unlikely and just three mvts.
Terrific job, bravo!
Some remarks, if I may
Arkady Dubensky, Symphony in G minor (1916), Old-fashioned according to testimony - Born 1883, must be really too old-fashioned, I'd say unlikely. NB: pupil of Ilyinsky
Vasyl Barvinsky, Symphony (1908?). Never heard of a symphony, but his other ouvres are of completely different idiom
Fyodor Akimenko, may have written TWO symphonies, first is in Hm (1915). However to me his style doesn't fit, too impressionistic and more skillful at that
Alexander Wyschnegradsky, Symphony in G minor? Not sure this exists. - Symphonies 1, 3, 4 are NOT in Gm, which leaves us with the 2nd
Alexander Ilyinsky - this is my main suspect from your list. I clearly see in my records Symphony in Gm. By the way studied in Berlin.
I have some more comments on a Franke Symphony but will save them for tomorrow - need to listen one more time
Re Bleichmann, Kasanli, etc.- that's like eliminating the Kalafati just because the only symphony of his that's readily available is the A minor Op.12, we may have to look deeper first?...
Navratil- the score of this one is actually available online, so one can answer yes or no to this!!!
Also checked and disqualified of course, Weinberg symphony no.1 in G minor, unless Franke added the introduction, but I don't recall the main fast theme of Weinberg's first movement resembling Franke's either. (And by Myaskovsky's etc. one's -already- getting rather late in the 20th century anyway. Popov's are arguably impossibly late for this depending on when Franke committed his plagiarism- and the Iron Curtain may become a concern perhaps. I'd argue -most- of the composers you mention are too skilful, many if not most, even if Myaskovsky 12 is him on something of an off day- though still enjoyable and memorable, but clearly something of a ripoff of his own far better 9th symphony, in its way.)
Also, Nawratil's (1867-1936) movements (symphony in G minor, 1902 November) are
"Allegro maestoso
Allegretto quasi scherzando
Allegro con anima."
3 movements, different titles. Even without comparing the manuscript, almost certainly not related to the Franke.
Quote from: eschiss1 on Tuesday 06 October 2026, 23:41Weinberg symphony no.1 in G minor, unless Franke added the introduction, but I don't recall the main fast theme of Weinberg's first movement resembling Franke's either.
The frequent tonal oscillation in this work makes it too advanced a choice. And it has a much leaner soundscape.
The more I listen to it the more doubts I have, damn it. Yesterday I was pretty sure that this work originates from Moscow, not Belyaev's circle. But then morning comes.
However, if I am not totally delusional I clearly hear a short quote from Tchaikovsky Es-dur symphony (finished in USSR in 1950s) in first four minutes (couple times) and a quote from 2nd movement of Tchaikovsky's 4th (at 12'-12'10). Would be great to look at the score..
AI suggests that, judging by tone plan, this is a hommage to Tchaikovsky 4th.
Quote from: Vitaly on Wednesday 07 October 2026, 12:51However, if I am not totally delusional I clearly hear a short quote from Tchaikovsky Es-dur symphony (finished in USSR in 1950s)
Q.E.D.: this theme is ALSO from 3rd Concerto, Op.75, already published in 1890s...
So THAT's where I recognized it from. To be fair, the E flat major symphony is dead last on my Tchaikovsky faves list (see the "worst unsungs" thread) but I re-listened the thing (alas) and I think you're right. As you say, this was published as Taneyev's Andante and Finale-slash-PC3 completion as well, and it might even be a coincidence. Honestly, the same may be true for the Tchaikovsky 4th reference, but together they suggest some kind of pastiche.
Funnily enough when I was looking at this after you first sent it me I thought there were footprints of Tchaikovsky? I didn't dare say it but I still think it after re-listening.
I don't hear the Tchaikovsky references, though I know Op. 75/79 quite well and Op. 36 as well as the next person.
Could this be a copy not of a symphony but of a concert suite? Any late 19th to early 20th century Russian suites in G-minor out there?
Quote from: Ilja on Tuesday 06 October 2026, 22:17- Yuliya Veysberg / Julia Weissberg, also Rimskaya-Korsakova (1878/80–1942) Symphony, Op. 4 1908–1910. Haven't seen the score, but the composition, bar and page sizes make this quite unlikely.
Dear Ilja, could you please elaborate on this passage? How did you get about it? What are your sources?[/list]
Quote from: Vitaly on Thursday 08 October 2026, 14:04Quote from: Ilja on Tuesday 06 October 2026, 22:17- Yuliya Veysberg / Julia Weissberg, also Rimskaya-Korsakova (1878/80–1942) Symphony, Op. 4 1908–1910. Haven't seen the score, but the composition, bar and page sizes make this quite unlikely.
Dear Ilja, could you please elaborate on this passage? How did you get about it? What are your sources?[/list]
Yulia Lazarevna Vaisberg. Symphony in G minor, Op. 4. For large orchestra.
Movement 1: Allegro moderato. Full score, 84 pages.
Movement 2: Allegro grazioso; 2/4; C major. Full score, 83 pages.
Movement 3: Andante. Full score, 44 pages.
Movement 4: Moderato. Full score, 72 pages.
Compare that with the figures for the Franke version of the '17th Symphony': 29–15–16–37 pages – and unfortunately, it looks rather less than convincing. Perhaps not impossible, but not very plausible either.
Quote from: John Boyer on Wednesday 07 October 2026, 22:04Could this be a copy not of a symphony but of a concert suite? Any late 19th to early 20th century Russian suites in G-minor out there?
There are a couple, but far fewer than there are symphonies in that key. It's not Arensky's, Moszkowski's or Akimenko's, I've been able to verify that as well. I've not been able to find others.
May have found one more Gm symphony
https://nvuc.ru/images/2019/nvuk_2019_17.pdf
page 60, left column, last paragraph
Source: Kritik: Konzert // Die Musik. Jhrg. 7. Heft 21. Berlin, 1907–1908. S. 182–195
Composer: https://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Sakhnovsky,_Yury
Cross-reference
https://lib.sptl.spb.ru/ru/nodes/24302-russkaya-muzykalnaya-gazeta-1907-locale-nil-15#mode/inspect/page/13/zoom/6
Right column, second paragraph - 2nd symphony planned for 1907-1908
Here we go
https://lib.sptl.spb.ru/ru/nodes/24344-russkaya-muzykalnaya-gazeta-1908-locale-nil-18-19#mode/inspect/page/10/zoom/7
G-moll. Eclectic, Scherzo in Fugue form, Finale in tempo di marciale
Does anyone know anything about the Symphony in G minor by Josef (or Joseph) Hüttel (1893-1951)? Apparently, composed in 1935 it won a prize from the Smetana Jubilee Foundation and was published by 1939 (see Hofmeister 1939 (https://archive.org/details/Musikalisch-literarischerMonatsbericht1939/page/n102/mode/1up)). Hüttel was a composition student in Prague of V. Novak and in Moscow of Taneyev. He remained in Russia until around 1920 and ultimately settled in Egypt where he was conductor of the Alexandria Philharmonic and then a director with the state radio. He returned to Czechoslovakia after WW II.
My search through the Hofmeister publications up through 1940 was mostly a dead end: Kletzki's Second Symphony (choral finale), Bergh's Tragische Sinfonie (on IMSLP), Hermann Ambrosius' Suite in G minor for Orchestra (6 Baroque dance movements), Paul Richter's Third Symphony (on Youtube), and Hüttel's symphony.
Quote from: Vitaly on Friday 09 October 2026, 16:35Here we go
https://lib.sptl.spb.ru/ru/nodes/24344-russkaya-muzykalnaya-gazeta-1908-locale-nil-18-19#mode/inspect/page/10/zoom/7
G-moll. Eclectic, Scherzo in Fugue form, Finale in tempo di marciale
Thank you! The whole relevant part:
QuoteYuri Sakhnovsky's Symphony in G minor occupies a position midway between compositions characterised by excessive enthusiasm for one tendency or another. It is written in an eclectic manner and evidently belongs to the composer's early works; nevertheless, it is a pleasure to hear. What chiefly wins us over is the sincerity of Sakhnovsky's creative impulse and the originality of his conception. His scherzo takes the form of a playful fugue, while the final movement concludes with a broad, funeral-march-like tempo di marciale.
Doesn't really seem to fit the bill, though.
Quote from: cypressdome on Sunday 11 October 2026, 03:05Does anyone know anything about the Symphony in G minor by Josef (or Joseph) Hüttel (1893-1951)? Apparently, composed in 1935 it won a prize from the Smetana Jubilee Foundation and was published by 1939 (see Hofmeister 1939 (https://archive.org/details/Musikalisch-literarischerMonatsbericht1939/page/n102/mode/1up)). Hüttel was a composition student in Prague of V. Novak and in Moscow of Taneyev. He remained in Russia until around 1920 and ultimately settled in Egypt where he was conductor of the Alexandria Philharmonic and then a director with the state radio. He returned to Czechoslovakia after WW II.
The Hüttel is fascinating. Apparently, the score was in the possession of Bohuslav Leopold even after WW2, and available for hire. That might make it accessible to Franke. On the other hand, would such a Russian-sounding thing win a Smetana Jubilee Foundation Prize? Still, worth a follow-up.
Quote from: Ilja on Sunday 11 October 2026, 11:21Doesn't really seem to fit the bill, though.
Well, is his Scherzo a fugue? May be not. May it sound as something like playful fugue? It may, for someone incompetent like me. Is his Finale sound like tempo di marciale? Same thing, and even more so at certain parts.
Nevertheless, after fourth or firth listening I was quite confident that this is a Moscow school and the author was born before 1870. That how I stumbled upon or, better say, remembered this guy. I can imagine him composing a symphony like this shortly after Tchaikovsky death or in 1904 for 10th anniversary.
Anyway, I know where manuscripts of BOTH his symphonies are (https://music-museum.ru/). And I have written them asking to confirm key and parts, and when confirmed I gonna bit a hell out of them to obtain copies, at least first pages of each part.
I'm not discounting it, Vitaly, it's definitely a candidate, and we should also not overly trust what reads like a rather casual review. If you can somehow obtain even a few score pages, that would be a huge help.
Then again, there is the question where Franke could have gained access to a Russian hand-written score from West Germany in the 1960s. But if this IS the same work, we may go from Nazi shenanigans to Cold War cahoots.
Quote from: Ilja on Sunday 11 October 2026, 18:58it's definitely a candidate
Not anymore (
https://music-museum-iss.kamiscloud.ru/entity/OBJECT?query=%D0%A1%D0%B0%D1%85%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9%20%D0%AE%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B9%20%D0%A1%D0%B8%D0%BC%D1%84%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F%20g-moll
Pity. Ah well, thanks so much for checking anyhow.