Eduard Franck (5 October 1817 – 1 December 1893) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and music pedagogue.

Life

Franck was born in Breslau, the capital of the

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

province of

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

. He was the fourth child of a wealthy banker who exposed his children to Germany's cultural figures. Frequenters of the Franck home included Heine, Humboldt, Heller,

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

, and

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

. His family's financial position allowed Franck to study with

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

as a private student in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

and later in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

. 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 Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

. Despite being compared favourably to them, 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. He was the father of

Richard Franck Richard Franck (3 January 1858 – 22 January 1938) was a German pianist, composer and teacher. Life He was born in Cologne and was the son of the German composer, pianist and teacher Eduard Franck. His father, who had studied with Felix Mendels ...

Music

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, 4 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.

List of chamber music works with opus number

*Op.6: Sonata for Violoncello & Piano in D Major, 2012 critical Urtext-Edition by Pfefferkorn Music Publishers (Leipzig) *Op.11: Piano Trio No.1 in E minor *Op.15: String Quintet in E minor (2 Vln, 2 Vla & Vc) *Op.19: No.1: Sonata for Violin & Piano in C minor, 2011 critical Urtext-Edition by Pfefferkorn Music Publishers (Leipzig) *Op.22: Piano Trio No.2 in E Flat Major *Op.23: No.2: Sonata for Violin & Piano in A Major, 2011 critical Urtext-Edition by Pfefferkorn Music Publishers (Leipzig) *Op.41: String Sextet No.1 in E Flat Major, 2011 critical Urtext-Edition by Pfefferkorn Music Publishers (Leipzig) *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, 2011 critical Urtext-Edition by Pfefferkorn Music Publishers (Leipzig) *Op.51: String Quintet No.2 in C Major (2 Vln, 2 Vla & Vc) *Op.53: Piano Trio No.3 in E Flat Major he German National Library and Audite site list this work as being in D major, while IMSLP says E♭ major.*Op.54: String Quartet No.2 in E Flat Major *Op.55: String Quartet No.3 in C minor *Op.58: Piano Trio No.4 in D Major *Op.60: Sonata for Violin & Piano in E Major, 2011 critical Urtext-Edition by Pfefferkorn Music Publishers (Leipzig) * Op. posth. Sonata for Violin & Piano in D Major, 2012 critical Urtext-Edition by Pfefferkorn Music Publishers (Leipzig)

Orchestral works (partial list)

*Op.12: Concert-overture in E (1848) *Op.13: Piano Concerto in D minor (1850);Hofmeisters Monatsberichte, January 1850 Critical Urtext-Edition edited by James Tocco, 2012 by Pfefferkorn Music Publishers, Leipzig *Op.30: Violin Concerto in E minor (1855) *Op.47: Symphony in A (1860?) *Op.52: Symphony in B (1856) *Op.57: Violin Concerto in D (1860) *Without opus?: Piano Concerto No.2 in C? (1879) (manuscript)

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

, Leben und Werk, Dokumente, Quellen, Second Edition, Leipzig 2010 *Some of the information on this page appears on the website of Edition Silvertrust but permission has been granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

External links

* *
Website of Pfefferkorn Music Publishers, Leipzig
*http://www.klassika.info/Komponisten/Franck/index.html *http://www.audite.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Franck, Eduard German Romantic composers Berlin University of the Arts alumni 1817 births 1893 deaths 19th-century classical composers German male classical composers 19th-century German composers 19th-century German male musicians