In the first two of three movements of the Violin Concerto Franck is clearly doffing his hat to the Olympian heights of Beethoven's Violin Concerto and perhaps to the slow movement of the Brahms. In the allegro finale the writing is more flamboyant but aiming to delight rather in the dance floor sense of the Op. 49 quartet’s finale. There is no hint of 'moving the earth' with dramatic gesture. The compass is primed by the Beethoven Romances and Violin Concerto.

The B flat major symphony confidently inhabits the world of the Schumann Second Symphony and the Mendelssohn Scotch. However along the way we have excursions into snowy soliloquies (Tchaikovsky's Winter Daydreams came to mind). Franck sometimes summons up impressively Brucknerian concentration with horn ornamentation to match. The open-air manner of Lange-Müller and of Schumann's First Symphony is well carried off.

It is pleasing that this estimable symphony survived unlike the well received A Minor and G Minor symphonies from 1846 and 1852 respectively. Perhaps you know otherwise ... let me know.

Eduard Franck had two brothers one of whom was also a composer. Richard Franck's cello sonatas can be heard on two other Audite CDs (20021 and 20031) coupled, in each case, with cello sonatas by Eduard.

If you like your Schumann and Mendelssohn this CD is certainly for you. Performances are remarkably well despatched. You will have little to complain of and Hans-Peter Frank makes hay with the many invitations to joyous exuberance that Franck has left throughout these scores.

Rob Barnett

 

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