Hans Franke (1882-1971)

[John Boyer]

The jury is still out on whether the charlatan was Franke or the person who "discovered" and promoted him. 

I see the Hatto affair inspired a movie and two novels (one with the marvelous title, "Two-Part Invention").  Since this forum (particularly Alan) deserves credit for uncovering the hoax, would it be too much to ask that when the film comes out that my part be played by Hugh Jackman?

Just a suggestion...

[eschiss1]

I was thinking of the Hatto movie too, which I saw a few years ago. And Jackman started in musical theatre and can sing very well, so why not?

[Alan Howe]

I can't claim any credit for uncovering the hoax; I just happened to be the first to make the connection.

[Alan Howe]

As a matter of interest, can anyone locate the full score/Partitur of what we knew formerly as Hans Franke's Symphony No.6 in A minor (a-moll), Op.790, published by Vogt & Fritz?

And by the way - a rather unsavoury 'fact', if it's true: apparently the Symphony was dedicated to and first conducted by one Bruno C. Schestak (1903-1950), who was a Nazi Party member:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_C._Schestak  (in German)
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=130068  (in English)
This may, of course, be another fabrication, but the fact that this is mentioned in the booklet accompanying the Amphion CD is still a matter of some concern.

[Ilja]

It is also mentioned in a newspaper article of the time, so I think we must accept this as verified.

[Alan Howe]

So: true, but unsavoury. Nothing like passing off someone else's work as one's own and then getting it performed by a card-carrying Nazi. Franke must have been quite a piece of work...

Since his daughter, Erika Prokop (1919-2008) established the Hans Franke Foundation (Stiftung), the next question would be how much she knew - and, of course, the same applies to publishers Elke und Gerhard Vogt (presumably of Vogt & Fritz) who helped her organise her father's estate and set up the Foundation.
https://hans-franke.de/hans-franke-stiftung/die-stifterin/

I have as yet had no reply to the query I sent them about the Symphony's provenance.

[Wheesht]

The Deutsches Komponistenarchiv, which holds Franke's Nachlass, should also know something – or at least want to know.

[Ilja]

I'm looking into going there the week after next, and have a look myself. Because let's be honest, at this point we have conclusive information about very little, as tantalizing as the few things we do know for certain might sound. We can't even be certain the work premiered as Franke's 6th Symphony in 1940 and the Kauffmann that functioned as its stand-in later, are the same.

[eschiss1]

This is true. And thanks!

[Alan Howe]

I'm sure we're all waiting with bated breath, Ilja. The thrill of the chase, eh?

[Ilja]

Oh definitely! It's only a little detour on the way to Berlin.

[terry martyn]

I note that Kauffmann was safely out of the way, a matter of years before the first performance of this Symphony

[Mark Thomas]

I've been trying to identify whether the three recorded chamber works, a Piano Quintet in E sharp minor and piano trios in D major and D minor, were also penned by someone else. Audio samples are here for those without the CD. The Quintet is a poor thing, sounding like it was written in the first half of the 19th century with banal melodies strung together in an unimaginative way. The two trios seem to me to be of rather better quality and are altogether more substantial, still stylistically from the 1800s but maybe belonging to the third quarter. Perhaps the poverty of invention indicates that the Quintet is actually by Franke, whereas he exercised the same good judgement as he did in selecting Kauffmann's Symphony when choosing the trios to which he'd lay claim? Unless I've missed something, I've drawn a blank with works in the same keys at IMSLP but I wonder whether someone else with better knowledge of the repertoire than me can identify the trios in particular? 

[Alan Howe]

Here's the MusicWeb review of the chamber music, if it's any help:
https://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2004/May04/Franke_trio_quintet.htm

[Alan Howe]

I note that Kauffmann was safely out of the way, a matter of years before the first performance of this Symphony

That's true. Kauffmann died on 29th September 1934 and Franke dated his forgery 29th May 1936. So Franke waited precisely 20 (!) months before coming up with 'his' Symphony. How considerate of him...