Today, I posted in the 'listening thread' on a disc of Piano Trios by Richard Franck, which prompted me to explore this 'father-son' German romantic music team - my main attraction was the excellence of the chamber music on this sole CD that I own of the two, and their presumed excellence in this area of composition.
Eduard Franck (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Franck) (1817-1893) was born into a wealthy banker family in Breslau; he took lessons w/ Mendelssohn, and was a talented pianist. In addition, he taught and composed; his chamber music is generally considered his finest output - checkout the listing and comments in the Wiki article.
Richard Franck (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Franck) (1858-1938), the son, was born in Cologne, and like his father was also a well-respected pianist, teacher, and composer; his works centered on the solo piano and chamber music, although he did write vocal and orchestral compositions.
Like many other 'lost & lesser known' composers that have appeared in this forum, this 'father-son team' needs to be re-discovered. The Audite Label (http://www.audite.de/search.php?sid=72d059c8502a2ffc883640bb20445b98&q=franck) has taken on the project of publishing much of their music - checkout their website for listings, if interested. In addition to the disc mentioned above, I just put in an order on the Amazon Marketplace for 4 other discs from this family duo:
Eduard Franck: String Quartets, Opp. 54 & 55
Eduard Franck: Violin Concerto, Op. 57/ Symphony in B flat Major, Op. 52
Richard Franck: Works for Violin and Piano
Richard Franck: Piano Quartets; Fantasies, Op. 28
Our own Scott Morrison has been giving many of these Audite recordings superb reviews on Amazon, and agrees that this music needs to be rediscovered; also, checkout the review of Richard's Piano Quartets on MusicWeb (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2007/Aug07/RFranck_92522.htm), and the links to his father's recordings at the bottom of the page. If you like the chamber music of Schumann & Brahms, then the Francks may be another happy addition to your collection; BTW, they are not related to Cesar Franck - :D
Quote from: SonicMan on June 23, 2008, 08:43:45 AM
If you like the chamber music of Schumann & Brahms, then the Francks may be another happy addition to your collection
:o Hmmm, definetely will have to check that out, thanks SM!!
As Wayne and Garth of Wayne's World would say:
Schwing!! ;D
Well, before my thread enters the depths of oblivion! ;D Thought that I'd start the listening postings on still the only disc that I own (the others mentioned above are now in the mail):
Richard Franck - Piano Trios, Op. 20 & Op. 32 w/ the performers listed on the cover below; can't find a decent pic of the composer, although the pianist in the photo is stated in the notes to be R. Franck. Trio, Op. 20 was published in 1893, and Op. 32 premiered in 1900 - the earilier work looks back into the 19th century and is full of wonderful melodies, harmonies, and interaction of the instruments (of which all of well represented); the later trio was dedicated to the cellist, Emil Braun, and which provides more of a dominance for this instrument; the music is somewhat more pithy & passionate - both works enjoyable, well performed, and recorded by the Audite engineers. This CD (a bargain chance purchase from BRO for $7) was a 'little shocker' for me relative to the quality of the music - really can stand up there w/ many other Piano Trio recordings that I own from this era - :)
If interested & would like anothe opionin, checkout Scott Morrison's Comments (http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Franck-Trios-Opp-20/dp/B0000UJLI2/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1214419795&sr=1-10) on Amazon - :D
(http://giradman.smugmug.com/photos/319697301_PT4Mv-L.jpg)
Two recent arrivals to add to my first only disc of his Piano Trios - now need to start exploring the father's music, Eduard! :D
Now listening to the Works for Violin & Piano, i.e. Violin Sonatas, Nos. 1 (Op. 14) & 2 (Op. 35; and Three Pieces for Violin & Piano, Op. 52; despite Richard Franck living until 1938, he was in ill-health many of his latter years - most of his large-scale composing occurred from about 1880 to 1910; plus, his music writing really 'looks back' into the Romanticism of the middle & late 19th century; Schumann, Mendelssohn, & Brahms were his father's models, plus Carl Reinecke (1824-1910) was Richard's main teacher thus instilling Viennese German musical traditions in his pupil. These works certainly show that influence, and are wonderfully rich & melodic w/ virtuoso writing for both instruments; Audite again does a great job at recording these musicians - both discs are SACDs (unfortunately I do not have a SACD player, so am listening in standard audio).
The performers, who are on all of the discs that I have of this composer are Christoph Schickedanz (violin) & Bernhard Fograscher (piano), born in Germany & Romania, respectively, in the 1960s; interestingly, the two met at the Music School at Indiana University in Bloomington, a beautiful BIG 10 campus in the rolling hills & quarries of southern Indiana (been there a half dozen times - my son went to undergraduate school at IU - got a funny story of a composer who was there at the time - had the same name as me, so for years I was getting TONS of donation requests from the music school!).
Now just starting and for the second time, the Piano Quartets, Ops. 33 & 41; Fantasies, Op. 28 - same two performers above w/ the addition of Marius Nichiteanu (viola) and Mathias Beyer-Karlshoj (cello) - pretty much similar comments to the above regarding the style & playing of the music - good review on MusicWeb (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2007/Aug07/RFranck_92522.htm) - :)
(http://giradman.smugmug.com/photos/321398914_nckch-M.jpg) (http://giradman.smugmug.com/photos/321398912_dCi42-M.jpg)
Well, I'm surprised that nobody seems to have an opinion or comments on this father-son duo - they are quite good and the music excellent - Audite has done a superlative job in putting this music on disc - despite this neglect, I'm still exploring their music - today, received the disc shown below of the father's String Quartet, Op. 49 & Piano Quintet, Op. 45 w/ the Edinger Quartett + James Tocco on the piano for the second work - these are excellent romantic works & recordiings - love the cover art which apparently is an early portrait of the composer's daughter - must look up her outcome?
(http://giradman.smugmug.com/photos/327631719_YyP9z-M.jpg) (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Eduard_Franck.png)
About to re-listen to the Eduard Franck Chamber Works in my previous post, but was fascinated w/ the beautiful watercolor picture of the girl - the inside notes are in German, but appears to be a watercolor painting of Franck's (the elder) daughter, Ida, done in 1866 by the artist, Johann Friedrich Dietler (1804-1874) - apparently quite a popular portrait painter in Bern, Switzerland, where the Francks moved to about six years earlier.
Not much at all on this artist or his other pics on the web (found the one below up for auction) - the Audite label which is putting together quite a few discs of the Franck's music seems to be using other 'watercolors' by this artist - well, just a side light - :D
(http://www.askart.com/AskART/photos/DOB20061108_4201/30.jpg)
I have three or four Eduard/Richard Audite discs. Haven't played them much, but they sounded promising.
Quote from: Don on July 08, 2008, 03:26:24 PM
I have three or four Eduard/Richard Audite discs. Haven't played them much, but they sounded promising.
Hello
Don - please give them a spin - would appreciate your comments; otherwise, this thread is 'going no where', and these two guys are pretty good! ;D Thanks - Dave
I hate that such interesting composers should languish so unloved, when there there is true quality to be had. I picked up this disc earlier this year. Sterling frustrates with its high prices and rare sales, but I have enjoyed the music.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SD-EFkEfL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
Ukrneal - thanks for rejuvenating this Franck thread - Florestan was posting some recent experiences in the listening thread and hope that he might add some comments here? :D
I need to re-listen to my previously posted discs and see 'what new' has been released by Audite! Dave :)
Well, after a longer that expected hiatus from the Francks, i.e. the two composers in this thread, I finally decided to take another look at the recordings of this father-son team on the Audite label! :D
Just added the 2 discs below of more Eduard Franck's orchestral and chamber works; he was greatly influenced and studied under Mendelssohn - Franck's Op. 1, published in 1837 were piano works dedicated to Felix M. The Violin Concerto, Op.30 & Symphony, Op.47 complement another Audite disc w/ other similar works. The two String Sextets were published in the latter part of the 19th century and have Brahms as a major influence. Excellent reviews of both recordings from ClassicsToday HERE (http://www.classicstoday.com/digest/pdigest.asp?perfidx=14809); also Scott Morrison's comments on the Sextets disc HERE (http://www.amazon.com/Eduard-Franck-String-Sextets-Opp/dp/B0002IQDGU/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1327515331&sr=1-3) on Amazon (check out his other reviews on this Franck Audite project!). :)
(http://giradman.smugmug.com/Other/Classical-Music/i-w49L9T2/0/O/FranckSymph47Violin.jpg) (http://giradman.smugmug.com/Other/Classical-Music/i-s9MCr3J/0/O/FranckSextets.jpg)
Quote from: SonicMan46 on January 25, 2012, 09:21:09 AM
Well, after a longer that expected hiatus from the Francks, i.e. the two composers in this thread, I finally decided to take another look at the recordings of this father-son team on the Audite label! :D
Just added the 2 discs below of more Eduard Franck's orchestral and chamber works; he was greatly influenced and studied under Mendelssohn - Franck's Op. 1, published in 1837 were piano works dedicated to Felix M. The Violin Concerto, Op.30 & Symphony, Op.47 complement another Audite disc w/ other similar works. The two String Sextets were published in the latter part of the 19th century and have Brahms as a major influence. Excellent reviews of both recordings from ClassicsToday HERE (http://www.classicstoday.com/digest/pdigest.asp?perfidx=14809); also Scott Morrison's comments on the Sextets disc HERE (http://www.amazon.com/Eduard-Franck-String-Sextets-Opp/dp/B0002IQDGU/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1327515331&sr=1-3) on Amazon (check out his other reviews on this Franck Audite project!). :)
(http://giradman.smugmug.com/Other/Classical-Music/i-w49L9T2/0/O/FranckSymph47Violin.jpg) (http://giradman.smugmug.com/Other/Classical-Music/i-s9MCr3J/0/O/FranckSextets.jpg)
That first disc is great! I like the other with the Violin Concerto too. But the sextet is one I haven't gotten around to yet. What's your impression of that one so far?
Quote from: mc ukrneal on January 25, 2012, 10:10:45 AM
That first disc is great! I like the other with the Violin Concerto too. But the sextet is one I haven't gotten around to yet. What's your impression of that one so far?
Hi
Neal - appears that you & I are the few interested in this composing family - ;D
Well, if you like the
Brahms Sextets w/ influences from Mendelssohn & Bach (as you probably know Franck was a virtuoso pianist and studied w/ Mendelssohn for about 4 years; the latter apparently used a LOT of Bach in teaching his students according to the liner notes!). The Edinger Quartett is supplemented w/ an extra viola & cello, which allows a much deeper and richer sound than from a string quartet alone - the instruments blend together beautifully w/ varied textures; the music is generally rather mellow but with different themes and combinations of instruments - I've listened to the disc this morning for the third time before writing these comments - enjoying more w/ each hearing; if you're a Romantic sextet fan, then this recording should not disappoint - :) Dave
Quote from: SonicMan46 on January 26, 2012, 08:39:02 AM
Hi Neal - appears that you & I are the few interested in this composing family - ;D
Well, if you like the Brahms Sextets w/ influences from Mendelssohn & Bach (as you probably know Franck was a virtuoso pianist and studied w/ Mendelssohn for about 4 years; the latter apparently used a LOT of Bach in teaching his students according to the liner notes!). The Edinger Quartett is supplemented w/ an extra viola & cello, which allows a much deeper and richer sound than from a string quartet alone - the instruments blend together beautifully w/ varied textures; the music is generally rather mellow but with different themes and combinations of instruments - I've listened to the disc this morning for the third time before writing these comments - enjoying more w/ each hearing; if you're a Romantic sextet fan, then this recording should not disappoint - :) Dave
Another
must for me then!
Quote from: SonicMan46 on June 23, 2008, 08:43:45 AM
Today, I posted in the 'listening thread' on a disc of Piano Trios by Richard Franck, which prompted me to explore this 'father-son' German romantic music team - my main attraction was the excellence of the chamber music on this sole CD that I own of the two, and their presumed excellence in this area of composition.
Eduard Franck (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Franck) (1817-1893) was born into a wealthy banker family in Breslau; he took lessons w/ Mendelssohn, and was a talented pianist. In addition, he taught and composed; his chamber music is generally considered his finest output - checkout the listing and comments in the Wiki article.
Richard Franck (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Franck) (1858-1938), the son, was born in Cologne, and like his father was also a well-respected pianist, teacher, and composer; his works centered on the solo piano and chamber music, although he did write vocal and orchestral compositions.
Like many other 'lost & lesser known' composers that have appeared in this forum, this 'father-son team' needs to be re-discovered. The Audite Label (http://www.audite.de/search.php?sid=72d059c8502a2ffc883640bb20445b98&q=franck) has taken on the project of publishing much of their music - checkout their website for listings, if interested. In addition to the disc mentioned above, I just put in an order on the Amazon Marketplace for 4 other discs from this family duo:
Eduard Franck: String Quartets, Opp. 54 & 55
Eduard Franck: Violin Concerto, Op. 57/ Symphony in B flat Major, Op. 52
Richard Franck: Works for Violin and Piano
Richard Franck: Piano Quartets; Fantasies, Op. 28
Our own Scott Morrison has been giving many of these Audite recordings superb reviews on Amazon, and agrees that this music needs to be rediscovered; also, checkout the review of Richard's Piano Quartets on MusicWeb (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2007/Aug07/RFranck_92522.htm), and the links to his father's recordings at the bottom of the page. If you like the chamber music of Schumann & Brahms, then the Francks may be another happy addition to your collection; BTW, they are not related to Cesar Franck - :D
[asin]B00000IMIE[/asin]
How wonderful to find a thread on Eduard Franck! I just received the recording shown above, and I hearing the A Major Symphony for the first time, and I'm enthralled by it so far! Lovely and evocative!
Quote from: Leo K on March 17, 2012, 06:59:25 AM
[asin]B00000IMIE[/asin]
How wonderful to find a thread on Eduard Franck! I just received the recording shown above, and I hearing the A Major Symphony for the first time, and I'm enthralled by it so far! Lovely and evocative!
If you like that one, you'll be happy to know there is another concerto/symphony disc (not to mention all the chamber music and such):
[asin]B000056QGB[/asin]
Quote from: mc ukrneal on March 17, 2012, 07:08:07 AM
If you like that one, you'll be happy to know there is another concerto/symphony disc (not to mention all the chamber music and such):
[asin]B000056QGB[/asin]
Thanks! I'm almost finished with the A Major symphony, and now I'm interested enough to explore more, and the disk above looks like an excellant choice.
As for his chamber music, perhaps I'll begin with his string quartets.
Quote from: Leo K on March 17, 2012, 07:19:46 AM
Thanks! I'm almost finished with the A Major symphony, and now I'm interested enough to explore more, and the disk above looks like an excellant choice.
As for his chamber music, perhaps I'll begin with his string quartets.
The string quartet disc is the most recent (released just this year), and I have not heard that one. So if you do go for it, let us know what you think.
Interesting music, the samples are very good. But the prices are rather steep, so I wait for a possible sale.
Quote from: Harry on March 17, 2012, 07:39:41 AM
Interesting music, the samples are very good. But the prices are rather steep, so I wait for a possible sale.
Yes. Mdt had a sale a year or two ago, so it does periodically go on sale.
Quote from: Harry on March 17, 2012, 07:39:41 AM
Interesting music, the samples are very good. But the prices are rather steep, so I wait for a possible sale.
Hi
Harry - yep, those
Audite discs are not much of a bargain; I've been paying about $14-$15 per CD over several years and now have eight - this is wonderful music, so you might want to give 'several' a try? Dave :)
I'm still listening to Eduard's A Major symphony, and still loving it. So glad I came across this composer!
8)
Quote from: Leo K on March 20, 2012, 10:20:08 AM
I'm still listening to Eduard's A Major symphony, and still loving it. So glad I came across this composer!
Hi
Leo - thanks for supporting this thread that I began - this father-son team certainly deserves MUCH more attention - I hope that others will join in w/ our enthusiasm! Dave :)
Some Franck orchestral music is on its way. I haven't looked but it may be already available at mdt or jpc. I'll be sure to get this one at some point for sure.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61KnsEwR3CL._SL500_AA280_.jpg)
samples here: http://www.amazon.com/Eduard-Franck-Orchestral-Konzertst%C3%BCck-Orchester/dp/B007X07V4I/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1337607442&sr=1-1 (http://www.amazon.com/Eduard-Franck-Orchestral-Konzertst%C3%BCck-Orchester/dp/B007X07V4I/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1337607442&sr=1-1)
Quote from: mc ukrneal on May 21, 2012, 05:40:03 AM
Some Franck orchestral music is on its way. I haven't looked but it may be already available at mdt or jpc. I'll be sure to get this one at some point for sure.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61KnsEwR3CL._SL500_AA280_.jpg)
samples here: http://www.amazon.com/Eduard-Franck-Orchestral-Konzertst%C3%BCck-Orchester/dp/B007X07V4I/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1337607442&sr=1-1 (http://www.amazon.com/Eduard-Franck-Orchestral-Konzertst%C3%BCck-Orchester/dp/B007X07V4I/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1337607442&sr=1-1)
Excellent! Thanks for the heads up. I now have a recording of the Bb major symphony and will listen soon :)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/a6cd8de4-48e1-bf72.jpg)
Quote from: Leo K on May 24, 2012, 06:42:51 AM
Excellent! Thanks for the heads up. I now have a recording of the Bb major symphony and will listen soon :)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/a6cd8de4-48e1-bf72.jpg)
I like that disc. I'd like it more if they had chosen another cover. What were they thinking!?!?
Quote from: mc ukrneal on May 24, 2012, 06:59:12 AM
I like that disc. I'd like it more if they had chosen another cover. What were they thinking!?!?
Hi
Neal - I have that disc and usually Audite's cover art w/ females are nice young ones, so your comment peaked my curiosity; looked inside the booklet, and there was a two sentence description but in German only - one phrase however may be the clue, i.e.
...die Ehefrau von Eduard Franck.. - 'wife of Eduard Franck', I believe - guess that's OK - ;D Dave
P.S. Please correct me to our German speaking GMGers! :)
Quote from: SonicMan46 on May 24, 2012, 07:31:13 AM
Hi Neal - I have that disc and usually Audite's cover art w/ females are nice young ones, so your comment peaked my curiosity; looked inside the booklet, and there was a two sentence description but in German only - one phrase however may be the clue, i.e. ...die Ehefrau von Eduard Franck.. - 'wife of Eduard Franck', I believe - guess that's OK - ;D Dave
P.S. Please correct me to our German speaking GMGers! :)
Well, that would at least give it some logic. But I still think they would have been better advised to go with something else. Some of that series has gorgeous covers, like the Renoir painting of the two girls at the piano. And I like the most recent one too. It's hard enough to sell these things (and a composer few know), without adding to the difficulty.
Of course, this doesn't change the wonderful music inside, but a little bit more forethought on the packaging seems warranted.
I mentioned ripping a couple of Spohr cd's a few days ago. Well, last night, I ripped a couple Franck cds too! The bits I heard sounded great and so looking forward to a listen to these:
[asin]B0002IQDGU[/asin]
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61jZWXQ4PpL._SL500_AA280_.jpg)
Quote from: mc ukrneal on September 29, 2012, 04:13:10 AM
I mentioned ripping a couple of Spohr cd's a few days ago. Well, last night, I ripped a couple Franck cds too! The bits I heard sounded great and so looking forward to a listen to these:
(http://giradman.smugmug.com/Other/Classical-Music/i-s9MCr3J/0/S/FranckSextets-S.jpg) (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61jZWXQ4PpL._SL500_AA280_.jpg)
Neal - looking forward to your comments! These guys wrote some D*&M good chamber music - Dave ;D
Boy, Francks TTT! Last post by me in 2012 and I've not added much to my dozen or so discs of this father-son composing team! Audite CDs are not cheap (just checked BRO and there are 4 Franck discs shown previously in this thread) - the first two below are additions and MP3 downloads; the third orchestral recording was shown previously but never purchased by me - Spotify has about 10 of these discs including the one in question, so will take a listen and may buy as a DL?
Also, was looking on Amazon and not much else has appeared in recent years, unless found from other sellers? Dave :)
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81dzqL9Wx9L._SL1400_.jpg) (https://d27t0qkxhe4r68.cloudfront.net/images/records/auditeaudite20031.jpg?1285153981) (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/819%2B9S%2Bgj9L._SL1500_.jpg)
Not long ago I discovered Eduard Franck on Spotify and created a playlist of his chamber works. I like it, although wasn't blown away. I had not heard of nor heard any music by Richard Franck. There is less of his music available, but again, not earth-shaking, but pleasant music for a Sunday afternoon.
Quote from: San Antone on February 16, 2020, 10:36:31 AM
Not long ago I discovered Eduard Franck on Spotify and created a playlist of his chamber works. I like it, although wasn't blown away. I had not herd of nor heard any music by Richard Franck. There is less of his music available, but again, not earth-shaking, but pleasant music for a Sunday afternoon.
Hi
San Antone - I've not listened to these CDs in a number of years and those MP3 additions in my last post were probably from a half dozen years ago! So, in the next few days, I'll devote some time to the Francks - from my recollection, I agree w/ your comments; both were best in their chamber efforts IMO and Eduard in particular harkened back to the earlier 19th century, i.e. Mendelssohn and Schumann but of course not up to their chamber excellence.
I'll also take a listen to Eduard's Audite orchestral recording w/ Ola Rudner - it is available on Spotify - Jerry Dubins in his Fanfare review completely 'thrashed' the effort, so now curious - for those interested, the comments are attached along w/ a rather long and good Amazon review w/ the opposite opinion. Dave :)
Perusing Amazon this afternoon and had completely missed a 2nd volume of Piano Trios on Audite w/ the Swiss Piano Trio - really enjoy the first volume w/ a different group - AND even an excellent Jerry Dubins review (attached for those interested) - had ten bucks credit there so the cost was half price! Still planning to listen to the orchestral works on Spotify. Dave :)
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61ipTxQmtqL.jpg)
I've been listening to E. Franck again. In particular his chamber music on the Audite label: the piano trios, string quartets, and the sextets. Just fantastic middle period romantic expression and forms.
I appreciate Audite doing all these - but it would be nice to see some other labels picking up, too.