Hans Franke (1882-1971)

[Wheesht]

FWIW I sent an email yesterday to Vogt & Fritz asking how I could get hold of a copy of the Franke CD. Today a brief reply from Elke Tobert-Vogt to say that they do not send outside Germany and also that the CD was no longer available ('vergriffen').

[terry martyn]

I am always suspicious of multi-excuses.   Of course, they send out of Germany.  That's how I got mine ,delivered to Spain, last March.

[Wheesht]

I assumed that was how you got your copy – but I decided to ask in all innocence if it was at all possible to order from outside Germany because I really wanted a copy of that CD. That it is now apparently deleted is probably  an indication that something is going on behind the scenes...

[Alan Howe]

Well, I've now had this reply from the publisher:

uns ist nichts Derartiges bekannt – wie sind Sie denn auf die entsprechenden Informationen gestoßen? Und haben Sie vielleicht Notenbeispiele oder zumindest Incipits? Das wäre interessant. Bei einer weiteren Sinfonie von Franke hat sich übrigens genau dasselbe herausgestellt. Eine wissenschaftliche Arbeit vom Anfang unseres Jahrhunderts zweifelt zudem an der Vielzahl seiner Werke.

Translated:

We don't know anything about this - how did you come by the relevant information? And do you perhaps have any examples from scores or at least incipits? That would be interesting. Incidentally, exactly the same thing turned out to be the case with another symphony by Franke. A scholarly piece of work from the beginning of this century also casts doubt on the large number of his works.
 

[Alan Howe]

I have, of course, replied, supplying the evidence they asked for. I have also enquired about the identity of the other symphony which was due to be recorded and subsequently identified as by someone else.

[Alan Howe]

The CD is still advertised as for sale on their website:
https://vogtundfritzsound.de/musikcd/klassik/hans-franke/
It'll be interesting to see whether it's actually taken down...

[Wheesht]

That's the link I used – and when you click on 'Jetzt bestellen' [order now] you are not taken to a web shop but to the contact page. I then used the contact form and got the reply I have mentioned...

[terry martyn]

This seems to be the sequence of CD events:

1) A trial run, back in the early 2000's, of chamber music (containing the Hill,inter alia). Franke's daughter was alive, but in her mid-80s.  The  CD attracted some attention including a tepid review on Musicweb and a rapturous one , four years later, on the Classical Music Guide.  No adverse waves resulted;

2) The Franke Foundation, at round the time of the death of Franke's daughter in 2008, as the heir to her estate, essayed the String Quartet no 4, on a disc containing better-known composers such as Dvorak.  I have not been able to trace any reviews,and am unaware of anyone on the Forum owning the disc.  Again,no waves resulted;

3) Around 2015, I think, the Franke Foundation decided to fund the recording of the first orchestral work in Franke's name, the Klein Suite for String Orchestra. Again, it was released on a disc containing plenty of cover,if cover was needed, in the form of pieces of string music by other composers. The CD entitled "Landscapes" featured a fairly well-known orchestra, the South Bohemian Chamber Orchestra. There are 21 recordings featuring that orchestra on Discogs, none of which seem to be this CD.  Again, I have not yet been able to track down any reviews, although it wouldn't surprise me if the Czech musical press have reviewed it. None of the Forum appear to possess a copy,and,once again, no waves resulted;

4) In 2018, for the first time. rhe Foundation was emboldened to fund full scale orchestral works, the (Kauffmann) Symphony and the (Woelfl) Piano Concerto,  and the CD released. It was available for purchase until at least the other day. Several Forum members acquired a copy, and it was very well-received, although I have not seen any reviews, and no adverse waves resulted until now;

5)  At some stage, either before or, more probably, after this release, the Foundation planned to fund a recording of another symphonic work in Franke's name, to be played by that Anhalt orchestra and conducted by Berg. The work was recognised as spurious. No public commotion ensued, but Bo Hyttner of Sterling Records ,we speculate, got to hear about it;

6) The Foundation has not made any further attermpts to fund recordings to date.

(Edit: The scholarly work,referred to in the publishers' latest reply, dating back a couple of decades, needs to be identified and unearthed)

[Alan Howe]

Terry: the Symphony/PC recording was made in June 2007. You may want to adjust your chronology...

[terry martyn]

That blows a hole in my chronology.  In the lifetime of Franke's daughter, and funded by the Franke Foundation, even though they had not yet succeeded to the estate?   Am I correct, that ,for whatever reason, it wasn't released until 2018?

[terry martyn]

Just speculating - is it conceivable that the "scholarly work" casting aspersions on Franke's work-ethic is one and the same as that penned by Gabriele Schaller?

[Alan Howe]

Am I correct, that ,for whatever reason, it wasn't released until 2018?

No: I only came across the CD in July 2018 and others clearly had it/other recordings before I did. The Classical Music Guide post dates from April 2008 and says nothing about the CD in question: http://classicalmusicguide.com/viewtopic.php?t=21555

[Alan Howe]

Just speculating - is it conceivable that the "scholarly work" casting aspersions on Franke's work-ethic is one and the same as that penned by Gabriele Schaller?

Quite possibly. I can't think of any other. Let's hope that Ilja comes up with the goods...

[eschiss1]

Allmusic claims the orchestral disc was released in 2008. I'll see if I can find any notation of any acquisition - library, e.g.- of the disc being acquired around that year...
Incidentally if anyone's near Munich and has access to the BSB audio library, they have/their catalog lists the orchestral disc and also: "Festival München 2010 : Herbert Baumann und Freunde ; Kammerkonzert mit Werken für Streichquartett und für Gitarre und Streichquartett" (contains Franke quartet no.5 in A, October 14 2010 performance), "Bläserkammermusik des 20. Jahrhunderts : Herbert Baumann zum 85. Geburtstag" (contains a performance of the Quartetto eufonico also from October 2010),"Bläserkammermusik des 20. Jahrhunderts : Herbert Baumann zum 85. Geburtstag" (Kleine Suite Op.863) and their catalog also lists the CD of the piano trios and quintet no.3... but they are as and have been as interested in picking up scores and recordings by and of more accomplished, worthy unsungs...

[eschiss1]

note: where a H. Franke is listed as an arranger or composer and it seems possible a very young Hans Franke might be involved, remember Hermann Franke lived 1834-1919 though his own op.#s did not get much past 86 or so...

(e.g. ÖNB lists "Die Fahrt zum Licht : eine symphonische Dichtung für grosses Orchester und Chorgesang" by Paweł Kuczyński arranged (for piano duet) by H. Franke, published by Litolff. Further research does reveal this is an arrangement by Hermann Franke specifically and published ca.1906, but this kind of ambiguity arises...)