Eduard Franck

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Eduard Franck

Eduard Franck (1817-1893) was born in Breslau, the capital of the Prussian province of Silesia. He was the fourth child of a wealthy and cultivated banker who exposed his children to the best and brightest that Germany had to offer. Frequenters to the Franck home included such luminaries as Heine, Humboldt, Heller, Mendelssohn, and Wagner. His family’s financial position allowed Franck to study with Mendelssohn as a private student in Dusseldorf and later in Leipzig. As a talented pianist, he embarked upon a dual career as a concert artist and teacher for more than four decades during the course of which he held many positions.

Although he was highly regarded as both a teacher and performer, he never achieved the public recognition of his better known contemporaries such as Mendelssohn, Schumann or Liszt. As fine a pianist as the first two and perhaps even a better teacher, the fact that he failed to publish very many of his compositions until toward the end of his life, in part, explains why he was not better known. Said to be a perfectionist, he continually delayed releasing his works until they were polished to his demanding standards. Schumann, among others, thought quite highly of the few works he did publish during the first part of his life.

His chamber music is generally considered amongst his finest compositions. Of the works with opus numbers, there are 3 string quartets, 2 string quintets for 2 violins, 2 violas and cello, 2 string sextets, 3 piano trios, a piano quintet, 2 sonatas for cello & piano, and 4 sonatas for violin and piano. In addition to these, there are several other works without opus, including a piano sextet, 2 piano trios, a piano quintet, a sonata for violin & piano and an occasional piece for cello & piano.

Wilhelm Altmann, probably the most important chamber music critic of the 20th century, in writing of Franck’s chamber music, comments:

“This excellent composer does not deserve the neglect with which he has been treated. He had a mastery of form and a lively imagination which is clearly reflected in the fine and attractive ideas one finds in his works.”

Of Franck’s Second Sextet, Altmann states: “This sextet belongs in the concert hall. It demonstrates that its composer was master of musical form and in possession of a gift which allows him to produce strong and noble melodies.”

[edit] List of Chamber Music Works with Opus Number

Op.6: Sonata for Violoncello & Piano in D Major
Op.19: Sonata for Violin & Piano in c minor
Op.11: Piano Trio No.1 in e minor
Op.15: String Quintet in e minor (2 Vln, 2 Vla & Vc)
Op.22: Piano Trio No.2 in E Flat Major
Op.23: No.1: Sonata for Violin & Piano in c minor
Op.23: No.2--Sonata for Violin & Piano in A Major
Op.41: String Sextet No.1 in E Flat Major
Op.42: Sonata for Violoncello & Piano in F Major
Op.45: Piano Quintet in D Major
Op.49: String Quartet No.1 in f minor (also known as Op.40)
Op.50: String Sextet No.2 in D Major
Op.51: String Quintet No.2 in C Major (2 Vln, 2 Vla & Vc)
Op.53: Piano Trio No.3 in E Flat Major
Op.54: String Quartet No.2 in E Flat Major
Op.55: String Quartet No.3 in c minor
Op.60: Sonata for Violin & Piano in E Major

[edit] References

Altmann, Wilhelm: Handbuch fur Streichquartettspieler, Vol.3, Heinrichshofen Verlag, Wilhelmshafen,1972
Cobbett's Cyclopedic Survey of Chamber Music, Vol.1, 2nd Edition, Oxford Univ. Press, London, 1963
Feuchte, Paul and Andreas: Die Komponisten Eduard Franck und Richard Franck, Leben und Werk, Dokumente, Quellen, Stuttgart/Hamburg 1993
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