a short question about cesar franck

[hodi]

to which does he belong?
impressionistic?
romantic?
late romantic?
modern?
other... ?

[phil13]

Like Fauré, he is in a class of his own- neither Romantic nor Impressionistic.

BTW I absolutely love Franck's music. Can't get enough of it. He is in my top 5 favorite composers, along with Beethoven, Scriabin, Chopin, and Bowen.

Phil

[ganymed]

I never heard of him as a composer to be honest. Are there any particular pieces one should know ?  What kind of music did he compose ?

[phil13]

OMG.

Well, start with the Prelude, Chorale and Fugue- one of the best pieces of the 19th century, and the best IMO of Franck's solo piano music.

Then there's the piano/orchestra works:

Piano Concerto No.2 in B minor, Op.11
Les Djinns (symphonic poem based on the Hugo poem of the same name)
Symphonic Variations in F# minor

And the chamber music...

Violin Sonata in A major
Piano Trio in F# minor
Piano Quintet in F minor

And, also, the Symphony in D minor. All are fantastic, all are worth checking out.

Phil