Cesar Franck

[thalberg]

What do you all think of Cesar Franck?  Every few years, I get sort of infatuated with his compositions.  Isn't it amazing that his fame rests on just a handful of compositions, all of which he composed after age 50?  (I think I'm right about that...not totally sure.)

Liszt said Franck's organ works were as fine as Bach's.  I played the Prelude, Chorale, and Fugue (for piano) quite a long time ago, and it is such an amazing piece.  Creativity, emotionalism, craftsmanship.

Anyway, let's have your thoughts on Cesar Franck.

[ramseytheii]

What do you all think of Cesar Franck?  Every few years, I get sort of infatuated with his compositions.  Isn't it amazing that his fame rests on just a handful of compositions, all of which he composed after age 50?  (I think I'm right about that...not totally sure.)

Liszt said Franck's organ works were as fine as Bach's.  I played the Prelude, Chorale, and Fugue (for piano) quite a long time ago, and it is such an amazing piece.  Creativity, emotionalism, craftsmanship.

Anyway, let's have your thoughts on Cesar Franck.

I'm curious to know what you're familiar with besides the PC&F.  Most pianists know one work by Franck, and that's it.  Some pianists know two, that one and the Djinn concerto.  A couple pianists know three, those two and the symphony in d.    I am more familiar with the choral works, which are definitely high-quality, but in my mind not as impressive as his contemporary Bruckner's choral music, which is impressive both in large-scale and small-scale formats.  And I think Bruckner is more original, although his choral music gives the feeling of archaism. 

Walter Ramsey

[retrouvailles]

Franck is a wonderful composer. His chamber music, Piano Concerto No. 2, Les Djinns, and Prélude, Aria, et Final are all very good pieces, in addition to the aforementioned. I hear his Symphony is a work of sheer genius, but I have yet to hear it.

[mikey6]

The Prelude aria and Finale is BORING! Although, Cortot makes a good case for it.
The Symphony is cool, The Violin sonata is amazing - most people would know that -  (love the last movt), the Quintet is a pregnant dog of a piece but Curzon's account tips boiling point.

[retrouvailles]

Heh, the recordings you have of those pieces just might not be the best, then. Although, I will admit, they can take some getting used to.

[thalberg]

I'm curious to know what you're familiar with besides the PC&F. 

Walter Ramsey

Well, the PC&F is the only thing of his that I've played, but I have a double CD set of Franck's music that includes quite a lot of stuff.  The PC&F of course, and quite a few organ pieces, and the Violin Sonata, and the Symphony, to name a few.  Also I have heard the Symphonic Variations.

[bachundrach]

Hi Thal,

I really enjoy playing his Sonata for Violin and Piano in A-major.  It is such a crowd-pleaser.  I also play his organ works and they are finely cut diamonds - each and every one of them.


Cheers,

B&R

[mikey6]

Heh, the recordings you have of those pieces just might not be the best, then. Although, I will admit, they can take some getting used to.

Cortot? Like I said above.  Don't think you could get much better.

[retrouvailles]

Cortot? Like I said above.  Don't think you could get much better.

Sure you can. Just because Cortot is Cortot doesn't mean he is the best.

[presto agitato]

Cesar Franck....mmm let´s see 

At the age of 6 he could tranpose every of Bach´s fugues. He wrote a great piano concerto an the age of 12

Alfred Cortot said that the best piano piece ever written was Prelude, Choral and Fugue.
He also wrote the best piano quintet and the best violin sonata.

He deserves his place

[m]

He deserves his place

So far no one has argued it.

My favorite is Symphonic Variations.

[ahinton]

PA&F is a finer work than the far more popular (though still good) PC&F; the symphony, on the other hand, is OK but seriously inferior to Chausson's.

Best,

Alistair

[pianistimo]

i just bought a book at an antique bookstore that has some of his works (franck's) and am enjoying it. the book is entited 'symphonic works for organ.'  i also have been enjoying a rendition of busoni's on bach's musical offerring.  and saint-saens (who wrote really good stuff, too, for organ) 'benediction nupitale.'  he wrote in a very organic organ way (as did franck and faure).  maybe because they actually played the organ enough to know what to do with it.

i have a million questions for anybody who is an organist.  must start another thread on playing the organ.

[retrouvailles]

We should start a general organ repertoire thread. I have grown very attached to that instrument recently. We could use Franck's organ works as a spring board to starting it.