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October 2023--December 2023

Eduard Franck's String Quartets

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Eduard Franck (1817-1893) was born in Breslau, the capital of the Prussian province of Silesia. He was the fourth child of a wealthy and cultivated banker who exposed his children to the best and brightest that Germany had to offer. Frequenters to the Franck home included such luminaries as Heine, Humboldt, Heller, Mendelssohn, and Wagner. His family�s financial position allowed Franck to study with Mendelssohn as a private student in Dusseldorf and later in Leipzig. 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 or Liszt. He wrote three string quartets.

Eduard Franck's String Quartet No.1 in f minor, Op.49 was composed no later than the early 1850's and quite possibly before. Franck did not get around to publishing many of his earlier works sometimes until decades after they were written. It is certainly the work of a young man, full of drama, passion and youthful exuberance. It was clearly influenced by Beethoven's Op.95. The opening Allegro is broadly designed with an emotional, rhythmically incisive main theme. The second subject is calmer and the short closing section is ingenious. The second movement, Adagio, is inspired by deep and genuine emotion. The Minuet which follows is pleasant while the trio section has a flowing, refreshing melody. The main theme of the finale, Allegro appassionato, is as the marking suggests, passionate. However, the other themes are graceful and more relaxed. The coda is quite effective.

String Quartet No.2 in E flat Major, Op.54 was composed around 1870. Franck appears to have taken Beethoven's Harp Quartet, Op.74 as his model. The quartet begins with a very lengthy, searching Adagio introduction. The tonality, in the minor, is strikingly advanced and calls to mind Late Beethoven. It leads to the main part of the movement, Allegro, without pause. This Allegro begins with a joyous theme which becomes increasingly excited until the first violin breaks loose with some measures of thrilling arpeggios, again reminiscent of the The Harp. The second movement, Adagio molto espressivo, though not marked "pathetico" is clearly in a tragic if not funereal mood. This is lovely and highly contemplative music. The bright and lively scherzo, Allegro, which follows dispels the aura of despondency. Franck concludes the quartet with a set of variations, again like Beethoven in his Harp Quartet. Ending with variations is a very hard to do and one which very few composers have succeeded in doing it well. But Franck succeeds brilliantly where others have failed. The theme is a simple, almost too simple, Scottish folktune. Our sound-bite presents about a third of the variations, and includes the thrilling conclusion. This fine work remained in manuscript until Eduard Franck's grandson and great grandson until we made the first commercial edition of this work and recommend it to both professionals and amateurs alike

It is believed that Franck's String Quartet No.3 in c minor, Op.55 dates from around 1870. Franck takes the explosive, dramatic writing of mid-late Beethoven as his model. The striking and powerful opening measures of the first movement, Allegro, immediately grasp the listener. An ominous and heavy pounding beat in the cello provides the background for a theme of destiny. The second subject, first stated by the cello high in its tenor register, is gentler and more lyrical. The calm, second movement, although marked Allegretto, is really an unhurried Andante pastorale. The sweet main theme has a na�ve simplicity about it. An Allegro vivace, with its Halloween-like main theme, serves as a ghostly scherzo and provides a tremendous contrast not only with the preceding movement, but also with the innocent l�ndler of the trio section. The lively finale, an Allegro, begins quite softly with whirling triplets which quickly build and give way to the richly scored main theme. The first and only edition of this work was published in 1899 some five years after Franck died, and quickly disappeared. This, in no small part, is certainly the reason that this fresh and original-sounding quartet never received the attention it should have. We are pleased to reintroduce it after nearly a century of unavailability. It not only deserves to be heard in concert and but also will surely provide great enjoyment to amateurs.

You can hear soundbites from each movement on our website by clicking on the boldface links above. The parts are available from Edition Silvertrust.

String Qts Dedicated to Haydn-Part 1---March 2012

String Qts Dedicated to Haydn-Part 2---April 2012

3 New Beethoven Quartets?---May 2012

Hermann Berens String Trios---June 2012

2nd Movt Bruckner Str Qnt too hard---July 2012

Arriaga The Spanish Mozart---August 2012

Johan Wikmanson's String Quartets---Sept 2012

Dubois' Piano Trios---October 2012

Trios for Clarinet, Cello & Piano---Nov / Dec 2012

Bargiel Piano Trios---January / February 2013

John Antes String Trios---March / April 2013