Franck had the reputation for being a great organist and a mediocre composer until that amazing Indian Summer where he no doubt bamboozled both critics and fellow-composers alike with the magic that teemed pretty much perpetually from his quill from then on! I have most of the more noted works from his final years, the main exceptions being the tone poems and the aforementioned Les Beatitudes, and I don't think they yield anything to the contemporary output of the curmudgeonly Saint-Saens, who seemed to have little truck with the thought of sharing equal billing with fellow-nationals (even though I'm quite an an admirer of his work as well). One things for certain when comparing the two - Franck certainly knocked spots off him with his later keyboard works.

 

Franck is never cheap; he is always noble and dignified, but on the other hand, his upper lip is never so stiff that it becomes a comedy. He has excellent balance between form and content. He is also... mysterious, much more than for example Saint-Saëns or Berlioz, or any of his contemporary compatriots, really. I love Franck!

 

I have truly fallen in love with César Franck today. Incredible, effortlessly flowing music. I wish he had written about 10 more symphonies.

Does anybody know which other composers Saint-Saëns hated?

 

I have truly fallen in love with César Franck today. Incredible, effortlessly flowing music. I wish he had written about 10 more symphonies.

Does anybody know which other composers Saint-Saëns hated?

Apparently, Debussy, Massenet, and D'Indy. Too, S-S walked out of Stravinsky's "Rite" premiere (before the riot). He couldn't appreciate Igor's writing for bassoon.

 

Strangely, it is two little known early piano works of Franck that I have really got to know and love. I bought the CD for the sake of the pianist featured, and the first two pieces I find most enjoyable (perhaps I am easily pleased by works of a simpler structure and emotional content, and just am not showing much sign of maturing in musical appreciation....) Anyway, I do appreciate the much more highly regarded later works as well, but listen more frequently to the Eglogue and the Grand Caprice.

I had a recording once with Franck's symphony coupled with Saint-Saens no 3 (Organ Symphony) and got into trouble with a friend who much preferred the Franck by saying that I liked the Saint-Saens. Maybe they would not have appreciated the coupling themselves.

 

Love him! His prelude, chorale, and fugue for piano is definitely a journey through a foggy night. He also wrote a very beautiful piano quintet in f minor

 

Berlioz, Franck, Saint-Saens, a pretty good progression of distinct sounds...what's not to like.

Re Franck piano works, I enjoy Hough (Hyperion, rec. 1996). :tiphat:

 

I love that album as well. Some may also enjoy reading Hough's thoughts about the composer:

http://www.stephenhough.com/writings/album-notes/franck-piano-music.php

 

I played the symphony with my alumni orchestra in a concert a couple of weeks ago. It's a beautiful work and the experience was highly enjoyable.

 

Piano Concerto No. 2 In G Minor - very underrated piece

 

Trying listen by Musique en Wallonie another works for piano and orchestra like the Variations quelque chose.....

 

I'm certainly a fan. By accident I've become a lover of French orchestral music such as Ravel and Debussy, and I think Franck sits well in their company. I'm listening to the full version of Franck's Psyché, a piece that pre-dates Daphnis et Chloe by 20 years. I think Rachmaninov must have been a fan - there are striking "echoes" in Rach's 2nd Symphony!

 

Franck's Symphony in D minor is inspected. Re recs., I like Philadelphia O./Muti (rec.1982), and OSM/Dutoit (rec.1989). :tiphat:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/tomserviceblog/2014/apr/29/symphony-guide-francks-d-minor

 

So you will like the new CD by Naxos wich it's play among other "Souvenirs d'Aix-la-Chapelle".
The pianist Patrick Dheur also registerd another pieces from Franck in CD intitled "Integrale de l'oevre pour piano de César Franck".
Finally Francesco Bertoldi played some fantasies for piano, editor is Dynamic.
But it's not yet all Franck piano pieces in CD!!

 

Franckly, I'm a Fan!

 

I'll pretend I didn't see that. Perhaps it will disappear the next time I'm Bach.

 

I just Lisztened to his wonderful Violin Sonata!

 

His violin sonata and symphony in d minor are all the Franck anyone should be able to Handel.

 

I adore much of Franck's music, but I've never managed to fall in love with the Symphony. On the other hand, his Violin Sonata, Piano Concerto No. 2, Piano Quintet, Symphonic Variations, and Les Djinns are all wonderful. Unfortunately he started seriously writing music so late that his output is relatively small.

 

I grew up with the Pierre Monteux/San Francisco Symphony performance of the great Franck Symphony in D minor on an old vinyl RCA LP; mono, of course!

The first two movements have a mystical quality to them that I love.

Magnificent symphony! Magnificent performance!

Still purchasable. Takes me back to when I was a kid, first listening to classical music, some 62 years ago!

 

Can anyone recommend me good Franck recordings? Looking specifically for ones of the tone poems and other orchestral music he wrote.

 

Chandos CD conducted by Otaka. http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Chandos/CHAN9342

 

His huge, large, dramatic and beautiful string quartet is IMHO one of his very best works, and one of the top quartets of the XIX century. A dense and difficult to play work, is almost forgotten and very seldom played live nor recorded.

 

going to look into this one

 

This thread came back to life at the right time. I just listened to his single surviving symphony today. (Apparently, he wrote a symphony when he was young, but that work has vanished.) Judging from the ready availability of this symphony on records from the early years of the LP, and in cheap box sets of records with titles like "The World's Greatest Symphonies," it must have been quite popular in the middle of the 20th century. One doesn't hear about it quite so much these days, but it still has its fans. I first heard it on a record from one of those box sets. I think it was one of the many sets from the Longines Symphonette Society (or perhaps something from Reader's Digest - I don't remember for certain), and I found it in a thrift store. Franck's Symphony in D Minor was there, along with many of the usual suspects. I was intrigued at first because it was unnumbered (unlike the others in the set), and I was even more intrigued when I listened to it. Over the years, I have come back to on occasion, and I seem to discover something new each time. I no longer have records since storage became a nightmare and I got rid of them (after digitizing a few favorites), but this symphony has been in my CD collection for a long time, and it is now on my hard drive where I can easily access it.

The recording I have is one of those many mid-century recordings - Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Pierre Monteux. It is, of course, a product of its time. Stereo separation is rather wide. Monteux gives a forceful performance that brings out the grandeur and emotional depth of the music. It has been a while since I have heard another recording, so I can't compare this to other performances, but I have found this one quite satisfactory.

I have heard relatively little of his other work. There is so much music out there that I simply haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe it is time to explore more of his music.

 

having looked into it, I would definitely recommend his quartet. Here is the first movement by the Fitzwilliam quartet

to give an idea of how it sounds, guess you need some muscular accompaniment

 

Love the Sonata for Violin & Piano in A major, especially the last movement!! Beautiful!

 

It even works for flute and piano!

 

I've it by the "Virtuoso" SQ (1925), and more "modern" recording by the Pro-Arte SQ (1933).As you can gess, I collect historicals. And a 1978 recording by the City of Prague SQ. You can say that I like the piece.

 

I'm a bit conservative. I prefer the Franck Sonata performed on violin.

There are some passionate moments that only the violin can justly make soar.

 

I've been exploring recently Franck's organ works. Great stuff! I like the way Olivier Latry make it sound like modern compositions.

 

I enjoy his organ music too. And his piano music! Especially the Prelude, Choral et Fugue.

One of the things I love about Franck is how he sometimes makes the piano sound like an organ. Steven Hough does an amazing job of bringing out this "organ-like" sound in his recording of Franck's piano music.