Hans Franke (1882-1971)

[Ilja]

Literally, Hammer wrote:

In der Tat ist es nicht neu,  dass sich Hans Franke am Schaffen anderer Komponisten bedient hat.

A more accurate translation than the one I gave earlier would probably be "It is no news, that Hans Franke helped himself to the works of other composers".

[Alan Howe]

That's helpful, Ilja. Thank you.

I'd probably translate it as: "In fact it's not news that Hans Franke helped himself to other composers' works."

So: Christian Hammer is saying that it was known that Franke was a plagiarist. I assume he knew about this because the plan for Golo Berg to record a work attributed to Franke was found to be by someone else. I also assume that this happened after Herr Hammer made the recording of the A minor Symphony for Vogt & Fritz/Amphion, otherwise he wouldn't have gone ahead with that particular project.

The question, therefore, is why this sorry tale has not been made properly public. To be specific, why are scores still being sold and CDs still being marketed as featuring music by Hans Franke?

[John Boyer]

I'd probably translate it as: "In fact it's not news that Hans Franke helped himself to other composers' works."

Well, I would have translated it as, "Not news in fact it is that to other composers' works Hans Franke to himself helped."

Gives it a bit more Teutonic flavor, eh?  But that's just me.  Or rather, to me that just is.

[Mark Thomas]

The question, therefore, is why this sorry tale has not been made properly public. To be specific, why are scores still being sold and CDs still being marketed as featuring music by Hans Franke?

A charitable interpretation might be that, although the passing off of the "Golo Berg" symphony was known about by the publishers and so it wasn't recorded, that wasn't true of the Kauffmann, Woelfl and Hill works and so they were recorded and published as by Franke. Even that seems naive at best, though. The first episode really should have set alarm bells ringing and, especially as they had been recorded, the Concerto and Trio's true identities could have been discovered with a little bit of effort. Now, of course, the scores and recordings really must be withdrawn and re-attributed.

[Alan Howe]

I have as yet had no reply from Golo Berg - he's probably very busy.

However, of more concern is the silence from Vogt & Fritz. Remember - this was their one-line reply (in English):

<<This seems to be very interesting, indeed. We will check it and keep you informed.>>

So, will they keep us informed? Surely they must know at least something already, following the incident with Golo Berg?

[terry martyn]

The pity is that we have now got a decently-produced CD with a fine performance of the Kauffmann and a bonus of the Woelfl Third Piano Concerto in a far better (to my ears) interpretation than the counterpart on the cpo label. And these performances deserve to be heard, and bought, and not suppressed. As Jimmy Durante once said "What a dilemnia!".

[Ilja]

I have as yet had no reply from Golo Berg - he's probably very busy.

However, of more concern is the silence from Vogt & Fritz. Remember - this was their one-line reply (in English):

<<This seems to be very interesting, indeed. We will check it and keep you informed.>>

So, will they keep us informed? Surely they must know at least something already, following the incident with Golo Berg?

No reply yet from Triendl, either. But let's remember it's the week after New Year's, when people tend to recuperate from that ordeal and Christmas.

[Alan Howe]

Quite so.

Question: so, how long do we wait before smelling a rat (particularly as regards Vogt & Fritz)?

[terry martyn]

I would check on the common factors between the publishers and the Hans Franke Foundation,Alan.

[Alan Howe]

Yes, I'm aware of that link. It all depends on who knew what and when.

One thing's certain, though: the fact that Franke was a plagiarist was known before we knew. And that's the part that requires investigation. At least two conductors knew before us - and maybe a pianist too, if he was kept in the loop.

[terry martyn]

I find the apparent  lack of public disclosure, and the lack of curiosity amongst the musical press and media, to be a little disheartening. It was as long ago as 27th April 2008 that the Classical Music Guide described Franke's music as "what a find",by way of one example.

[Alan Howe]

I would imagine that the music plagiarised by Franke was too obscure to cause much of a stir. And maybe no-one's actually bothered to research exactly which works he purloined anyway. Maybe 'his' scores have been quietly disposed of, leaving no evidence behind. Maybe all we actually have left is a catalogue of works - because, if we don't even have musical incipits/excerpts, it's going to be very hard to establish the facts.

Does anyone know exactly who Gabriele Schaller is - i.e. the author of the inventory/catalogue of Franke's claimed compositions?

[John Boyer]

As I have hinted at before, I still believe that the plagiarist is not Franke, but someone at the foundation or the publisher.  The publisher's unsurprised response reminds me of William Barrington-Coupe's equally mild bewilderment when he was first questioned on the Hatto fraud. 

Has anyone seen facsimiles of the Franke manuscripts?  Or did the foundation/publisher present the performers only with the newly engraved editions?  Since the engravings are new, who was the editor who closely examined the manuscripts to resolve errors?

[John Boyer]

Finally, what would be the motivation for this?  (And again, I think Franke is innocent, that the hoax has been perpetrated by his descendants or advocates.)   With Hatto/Barrington-Coupe, the motive was clearer: the attainment of recognition that was felt to be unjustifiably denied.  Here it is less clear.  It can't be money or fame, because forgotten romantic music makes no one rich, and classical music in general goes unnoticed by 98% of the population. 

[Alan Howe]

You may well be right, John. This is what conductor Christian Hammer told Ilja:

<<I made the recording at the invitation of the publishing house Vogt & Fritz. The score that was made available to me is a handwritten one with 4 entries from performances, 2 of which were in the Berlin Philharmonie (1941 + 1942) supposedly under Wilhelm Furtwängler.>>

This looks as though it was not only plagiarism, but also a deliberate fabrication as we can't find any evidence of performances under Furtwängler. So - a plagiarised score with the two inner movements swapped round and fake entries indicating performances in Berlin under Furtwängler in the early war years which never took place.

So, as John wonders - was this the work of Franke or certain later actors?