Eduard Franck (1817-1893) was quite a remarkable character in 19th-century German chamber music.
As an exception to the rule, he had been given private lessons from the age of seventeen by Felix Mendelssohn and he also got to meet Schumann in that same period. As a piano soloist and conductor, Franck travelled across Europe and was a teacher in Cologne, Bern and finally Berlin for many years. He was an extremely modest composer who seldomly dated his partitures and sometimes left his works untouched for years. Whereas the Kölner Quartet performed it for the first time in 1855, it was not until 1891 when his magnificent String Quartet in f minor, opus 49 was released. Franck’s music beautifully connects Mendelssohn’s and Schumann’s school with that of Brahms and Dvorak.
Eduard Franck – String Quartet in f minor, opus 49
- Allegro risoluto (9:40), 2. Adagio molto espressivo (7:29), 3. Menuetto. Trio (5:53), 4. Allegro appassionato (8:09)
Performers: Edinger Quartett
CD: Audite
Eduard Franck – String Quartet in E flat major, opus 54
- Adagio molto. Allegro (12:19), 2. Adagio molto espressivo (11:06)
Performers: Edinger Quartett
CD: Audite
