Eduard Franck 1817-1893

[Alan Howe]

Eduard Franck's music is really very lovely, especially his Symphony in A major. Watch out for an interesting development elsewhere at UC...

[Alan Howe]

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

[Febct]

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?

[Alan Howe]

You are correct. The YouTube link is to Franck's A major Symphony; however, the caption is wrong - it should read "Op.47"

[Febct]

You are correct. The YouTube link is to Franck's A major Symphony; however, the caption is wrong - it should read "Op.47"

Thanks.

[Ilja]

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? 

[Alan Howe]

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.

[Alan Howe]

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

[Alan Howe]

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

[tuatara442442]

from 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.

[Alan Howe]

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

[Alan Howe]

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.

[tpaloj]

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.

The article to those interested is here (with musical examples at the end of part 2):
March 8 (part 1)
March 15 (part 2)

[Alan Howe]

Thanks very much, Tuomas, for locating these articles and musical examples. If only the score/parts could be found...