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Review: Warner's César Franck Edition--The Older The Better
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- čas přidán 18. 01. 2023
- This 16-disc box contains little beyond the major works, which is fine as far as it goes. However, even more interesting than the stereo recordings are the five discs of historical material, some of it originating as far back as 1904. That puts us in direct touch with a tradition of playing contemporaneous with the composer himself.
I really don't understand why Franck has somewhat sunk into oblivion. 2022 marked the 200th anniversary of his birth but not many people seemed to pay much attention. Yet Franck's Piano Quintet is one of the very best piano quintets ever written - just as Franck's Violin Sonatas is one of the best violin sonatas there is. I'm particularly impressed with the slow movement of the Piano Quintet. The opening theme is in my opinion unlike anything else. It is so eerily beautiful: so serene but yet so full of longing and indescribable emotional power. Some years ago at Easter I listened to Franck's oratorio (?) Les Sept paroles du Christ en croix. I find it simply wonderful as well, an unsung masterwork even.
Thank you for shining light ob Franck's work! I found this review very helpful. Love the French accent, lol!
I bought the Brilliant Classics Franck box, last year. It is 23 discs with no repeats. Much of it is very good. No "Hulda" but does include "Stradella" and "Les Beatitudes."
Supraphon has a wonderful 3 disc box, Jean Fournet in Prague, mainly of Franck works, Redemption, les Eolides, Psyché (Josef Veselka) Chasseur Maudit, Les Djinns, Czech Phil. Unbeatable!
The complaints of a doll only matter if the doll is Chucky. Thanks for surveying Franck. By Jove, that rhymes.
Just got this in the mail two days ago. So far, so good.
I adored Petur Sakari’s recent recording of Franck’s 3 Pieces/Chorals for Organ
I do love Franck, Widor and Vierne’s organ works.
I've always liked Franck's music, even if some of the works tend to bring out the worst in a lot of players and conductors, who forget that Franck requires elegance and concentration as well as profundity. For example, there are just so many horrid and slimy recordings of his Symphony. Few recordings are on the level of Munch, Paray, Ormandy (and a handful of others) as well as the performaces well chosen for this box. I'm gonna grab it before it has a chance to slip into the oblion of Oot-of-Print Land. Thanks for reviewing this!
A glaring omission from the box's historical portion are Alfred Cortot's recordings.
Dear mr. Hurwitz, could you also review the Brilliant Classics box? Thank you so much!
You could argue that Alain's organ works are pretty essential - but they're available separately.
Much as I admire Franck, still undecided to invest hard-earned lucre on this or the 23-CD (and cheaper) Brilliant Classics box-set. The historical recordings might just tip the balance.
Germaine Thyssens-Valentine's Faure piano works were released on Testament.
Thank you. I knew it as soon as I finished. Oy!
Augustine Dumay & Louis Lortie are my favourite version of Franck’s Violin Sonatas.
Try to compare the Collard version too.
The least known of the great composers. A shame, because his music really is quite beautiful.
I am sorry to disagree.....They certaintly could have chosen some better performances from their own catalog......and they could have remastered all that they put into these boxes. Additionally, even if they dont have all of a composer's work, they have been known to license other recordings to get more complete. They are missing alot: orchestral, chamber, lieder and opera.....atleast another NINE disks which have been recorded on several other labels. The historical stuff is interesting, but, some of it has been issued...by emi already.
These composer boxes are just getting weaker......Atleast the Berlioz and Debussy and Ravel and Poulenc were complete. I guess the days are gone when they attempt to fill in gaps in their catalogs. Franck was a fine composer who had a big influence and deserves soemthing better. The brilliant classics box is alot more representative and complete.
I'm not sure what you're disagreeing about. I didn't say it was complete, and Warner doesn't say it's complete. It's an "edition," no more, no less, and it is what it is. Not fabulous, but not bad, with some really interesting historical stuff. Could it have been done better? Sure, but I said that too. You can't take them to task for not doing what they never intended to do in the first place.