Richard Franck (3 January 1858 – 22 January 1938) was a German

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 ...

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 ...

and teacher.

Life

He was born in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

and was the son of the German composer, pianist and teacher Eduard Franck. His father, who had studied 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 ...

and knew the value of good instruction, sent Richard to the Leipzig Conservatory, where he studied with two of the leading teachers of the day,

Carl Reinecke Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (23 June 182410 March 1910) was a German composer, conductor, and pianist in the mid-Romantic era. Biography Reinecke was born in what is today the Hamburg district of Altona; technically he was born a Dane, as ...

and

Salomon Jadassohn Salomon Jadassohn (13 August 1831 – 1 February 1902) was a German pianist, composer and a renowned teacher of piano and composition at the Leipzig Conservatory. Life Jadassohn was born to a Jewish family living in Breslau, the capital of the ...

. During the course of a long career, Franck held teaching positions at conservatories in both Germany (Kassel, Berlin, Heidelberg) and in Switzerland (Basle). Although he did not reach the front rank amongst his contemporaries, he was nevertheless well respected as a concert artist and as a composer. His conservative style was influenced by Reinecke and by his friend, the Swiss composer Hans Huber (1852–1921). Franck was firmly in the tradition of Mendelssohn and Schumann though it's clear that he was not immune from the influence of Wagner, Grieg and Reger also. Critics who were familiar with his compositions and his piano playing regularly lavished praised upon them. For example, the ''Schweizerische Musikzeitung'' (Swiss Musical Journal), writing about his First Piano Trio, Op. 20, wrote:

"Powerful and full-sounding energy is shown in many works, not least in ichard Franck'sOp.20
Piano Trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of musi ...
, which is a magnificent, significant composition, fresh in invention, firm and secure in its development, and mature in its expression."

The bulk of Franck's compositions are for solo piano; however, he also wrote orchestral and vocal compositions, as well as a considerable amount of chamber music. Though he and his music have been long forgotten, as of late, his music has been rediscovered and is in the process of being revived. His piano trios, piano quartets and four sonatas have all been recently recorded on Audite, a selection of orchestra works on Sterling. Early in 2007, Edition Silvertrust republished the parts to his Op. 20 Piano Trio, the first in a series of chamber works to be released. Within the next years, all available works of Richard Franck will be published in critical editions by Pfefferkorn Music Publishers, Leipzig.

Works (selection)

Orchestral

* Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor (1880, unpublished) * Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major (unpublished) * Symphony in D major (< 1901, unpublished) * Concert Overture ''Wellen des Meeres und der Liebe'', Op. 21 (1895) * Serenade for Cello and Orchestra in C major, Op. 24 (1896) * Serenade for Violin and Orchestra in A major, Op. 25 (1896) * Suite for Orchestra in D major, Op. 30 (1899) * Dramatic Overture in C major, Op. 37 (1903) * Idyll ''Amor und Psyche'' in E major, Op. 40 (1905) * Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 43 (1906) * Piano Concerto No. 3 in E minor, Op. 50 (ca. 1907) * Vorspiel zu einem romantischen Schauspiel op. 57 (1926, unpublished)

Chamber music

* Sonata No.1 for Violin & Piano in D Major, Op.14 - (Critical Urtext-Edition 2010 by Pfefferkorn Musikverlag / Music Publishers, Leipzig. ISMN 979-0-50139-406-6) * Piano Trio No.1 in B minor, Op.20 * Sonata for Cello & Piano in D Major, Op.22 * Piano Trio No.2 in E Flat Major, Op.32 * Piano Quartet No.1 in A Major, Op.33 * Sonata No.2 for Violin & Piano in C minor, Op.35 - (Critical Urtext-Edition 2010 by Pfefferkorn Musikverlag / Music Publishers, Leipzig. ISMN 979-0-50139-406-6) * Sonata No.2 for Cello & Piano in E flat minor, Op.36 * Piano Quartet No.2 in E Major, Op.41 * Three Pieces for Flute (or Violin) & Piano, Op.52 * Spanish Serenade for String Quartet WoO (1926)

Piano solo

* Drei pianostücke Op. 1, Zürich 1881 * Impromptu, Barcarolle and Etude for piano Op. 5, Berlin 1883 * Concert-Walzer for piano A flat major, Op. 10, Berlin 1885 * ''Drei vierhändige Stücke in Kanonform'', Op. 11, Magdeburg 1886 * ''Tanzweisen'' for four-hand piano Op. 12, Breslau 1888 * Menuett for piano A minor, Op. 13, Leipzig 1890 * Suite for four-hand piano Op. 9, Leipzig 1890 * Vier pianostücke Op. 15, Zürich 1891 * Variationen über ein Originalthema Op. 16, Leipzig 1891 * Menuett and Mazurka for piano Op. 17, Leipzig 1891 * ''Fantasie über Motive aus der Musik zu einem Festspiele'' by Hans Huber C major, Leipzig ca. 1893 * ''Träumereien''. Four pieces for piano Op. 18, Berlin 1894 * Kinderalbum Op. 19, unpublished * ''Drei Clavierstücke for den Concertvortrag'' Op. 23, Berlin 1894 * Drei Fantasiestücke for piano Op. 26, Berlin 1899 * Fantasie(n) for piano Op. 28, Berlin 1897 * Chaconne for piano c-Moll Op. 29, Berlin 1899 * ''Papillon'' in D major, (1901) * Acht pianostücke Op. 34, Berlin 1902 * Fantasiestück A-Dur (1903 * ''Waldphantasien'' for piano Op. 38, Berlin 1904 * ''Luzern. Eine Erinnerung in fröhlichen Walzern'' Op. 39, Berlin 1904 * Ballade for piano Op. 44, Berlin 1906 * Two Piano Pieces for the Salon Op. 46, Berlin 1907 * Scherzo for piano A flat major Op. 47, Berlin 1907 * ''Orientalische Skizzen'' for piano Op. 48, Kassel * Gavotte and Menuett for piano Op. 49, Kassel * Sonate for piano D flat major Op. 51, Berlin 1910 * 12 Variationen and Fuge über ein eigenes Thema Op. 53 (< 1922) * ''Fantasie and Fuge über B.A.C.H.'' for one or two pianos * Album for piano Op. 55, Heidelberg 1926 * ''Polyphone Tonbilder'' for piano Op. 56, Heidelberg 1926

References

* Feuchte, Paul and Andreas: Die Komponisten Eduard Franck und Richard Franck, 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 Musikverlag / Music Publishers

* ttp://www.audite.de/sc.php?cd=97487 Page at Audite.de
musicweb-international
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franck, Richard 1858 births 1938 deaths German pianists German Romantic composers Musicians from Cologne Pupils of Salomon Jadassohn German male classical composers German male pianists 19th-century German male musicians 20th-century German male musicians