Hans Franke (1882-1971)

[Alan Howe]

Here's a curious case. Hans Franke was a prolific composer - 869 works in all categories, including 19 symphonies, 10 masses, 8 concert overtures, 2 piano concertos, etc., of which, tragically, only 87 survived the allied bombing of Dresden in February 1945. Why curious? Because here we have a 20th century composer who appears to have composed in an entirely 19th century idiom. I recently discovered the following CD featuring his 1st Piano Concerto in F (Op.796, 1943) and 6th Symphony in A minor (Op.790, 1936):
http://www.edition49.de/shop/?uid=0ac10e8c8601b37961a1709724fc39fa&action=detail&BestNr=VF+8035-00
Excerpts can be auditioned here:
https://www.amazon.de/Hans-Franke/dp/B001B9VG7U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1531171287&sr=8-2&keywords=hans+franke
I'll leave PC1 to Mark to describe (sorry, Mark!), but the (39-minute) 6th Symphony is a thoroughly enjoyable piece which has certainly grown on me in recent days. It could easily have been written in, say, the 1880s. Oh, and by the way: the works are superbly done by conductor Christoph Hammer and the Brandenburg State Orchestra (Frankfurt/Oder), with that adventurous and accomplished pianist Oliver Triendl.

[Alan Howe]

For those who can read German, there's a website dedicated to Franke here:
https://hans-franke.de/

[Mark Thomas]

The Piano Concerto? Well, I guess if you can imagine an 1880s high-romantic Mozart pastische then you may come somewhere near it. The sound bites of the CD's first three tracks in the amazon.de link actually give a very fair impression. Like the Symphony it is, as Alan says, superbly played with huge joi de vivre by all concerned and is a very entertaining listen, but it really is the oddest, doubly anachronistic thing.

The Symphony is a different matter: it's a good, solid work, the idiom of which is 100% second-half of the 19th century. I also have a CD of Franke's 19th centuryesque chamber music (a piano quintet and two piano trios - details on the German language Franke web site Alan linked to) which is consistently charming, if perhaps coming across as rather naïve. Judging only by these two CDs my impression is that Franke was a first-rate craftsman, but one completely devoid of any musical personality, leading him to ape slavishly the models of the past.

[Martin Eastick]

I have both these CD's and have to admit that they are great favourites of mine - along with those of Schmidt-Kowalski - although here there is a more direct link with the 19th century, especially via Carl Reinecke! I have no problem with the Piano Concerto being a pastiche of the early 19th century - and enjoy the music for what it is - and obviously well-crafted at that! Hopefully we will hear more from this composer of considerable promise!

[Mark Thomas]

I see there's also recordings available from the same source of Franke's Little Suite for String Orchestra and the String Quartet No.4. It's a pity that that's coupled with works by Dvorak, Witte and Kodaly. No coupling for the Suite as far as I can see.

[Alan Howe]

Occasionally I dig out the CD with Franke's 6th Symphony and I have it to say I enjoy it every time I give it another spin. Don't know it? It's still apparently available:
https://www.edition49shop.de/cds/5374/hans-franke-cd?number=VF-8035-10



Here's an interesting assessment of Franke:
http://classicalmusicguide.com/viewtopic.php?t=21555

[terry martyn]

Now that amazon.de says that the CD is unavailable, is there any way of hearing excerpts which will help me make up my mind, as, including shipping, the cost of the CD is close to 30 euros?

[terry martyn]

Mind you, if my test question ("Would Reinecke have approved?") is answered in the affirmative, I probably ought to go ahead and order it.  I was ,however, disappointed with the anachronistic af Sillen CD when I took a punt on that - it bored me!

[terry martyn]

I am going ahead and ordering it, thanks to Mark's good offices. The piano concerto is an advance on Field, but we haven't reached Chopin. This is reactionary composing just as I like it, with not a hint of pastiche.

[Alan Howe]

Terry, you're going to love this. It's Reinecke plus a bit of heavy brass. Absolutely marvellous.

There's no pastiche here, by the way. Franke just carried on composing in the mid-romantic idiom that came naturally to him.

[terry martyn]

Well, the Franke has arrived, and what a revelation !

The Piano Concerto I would have guessed at 1820. Melodious and a generous-spirited work.

The Symphony I would have had a stab at being composed in 1875. Very late Rietz or early Rudorff, so "Reinecke with brass" is very apt!!

Loved the Cd on first hearing. It will be played often here!

[Alan Howe]

It's played often here too! So glad you like it.

It's the brass writing that hints at a later date, especially in the finale - but who cares?

[terry martyn]

This is such a delectable offering (the Piano Concerto ,played with tenderness and nobility by our new member Oliver Triendl) that I have written to the distributors, suggesting that they send a copy for review by Musicweb International. It deserves to sell like hot cakes.
I wonder,Alan, whether this topic has now crossed over to Recordings and Broadcasts?

[Mark Thomas]

Let's leave it here for now.

[Alan Howe]

As it appears that the Symphony is not by Franke at all, but by Fritz Kauffmann, please follow this link:
https://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,9306.0.html