Eduard Franck - String Sextets Op. 41 & Op. 50 (Edinger Quartett; etc.)

Information

Composer: Eduard Franck

• (01) Sextet for 2 violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos in E-flat major, Op. 41
• (05) Sextet for 2 violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos in D major, Op. 50

Edinger Quartett

Christiane Edinger & Alexander Kortschmar, violins

Igor Budinstein, viola

Katharina Maechler, cello

&

Leo Klepper, viola

Matthias Donderer, cello

Date: 2004

Label: Audite

https://audite.de/en/product/CD/97501-e_franck_string_sextets_op_41_op_50.html

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

The string sextet seems to have been (more or less) invented by Spohr, only to be picked up by Brahms and later Dvorák–and also Eduard Franck. I suppose that these works have a bit more Spohr in them than Brahms, and I say this not to denigrate Franck’s achievement. There’s a certain softness of rhythm to his music that just seems to be part of his makeup, but unlike Spohr he doesn’t wallow in chromatic slush. His essential lyricism never turns flabby, and his masterly use of functional counterpoint in the outer movements of both works keeps his textures aerated and the music moving purposefully forward.

Of the two pieces, I marginally prefer the D major sextet, with its more concise opening movement, but there’s very little to choose between them. Both are richly woven, beautifully finished musical tapestries, and they receive excellent performances from the Edinger Quartett (and friends). The players never push too hard or lose the basic pulse, offering excellent intonation and tonal blend. They sustain both andante second movements effortlessly, lighten their tone effectively in the scherzos, and always seem to know where the music wants to go, formally speaking. There’s really little else that need be added, save that the sound is excellent and especially well balanced so that the music never turns murky. If you fancy good, solid German romantic craftsmanship, you will enjoy these two strikingly well-made works. [3/9/2005]

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

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Eduard Franck (5 October 1817 – 1 December 1893) was a German composer, pianist and music pedagogue. He studied with Felix Mendelssohn as a private student in Düsseldorf and 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 highly regarded as both a teacher and performer, Franck, as a composer, never achieved the public recognition of his better known contemporaries such as Mendelssohn, Schumann or Liszt. His chamber music is generally considered amongst his finest compositions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Franck

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Christiane Edinger (born 20 March 1945 in Potsdam) is a German violinist. She studied at the Berlin University of the Arts with Vittorio Brero (1960-64), with Joseph Fuchs at the Juilliard School (1965-67), and in 1963/64, she also attended courses given by Nathan Milstein in Gstaad. Edinger made her debut as a concert violinist at the Berliner Festspiele in 1962, then her Carnegie Hall debut in 1966. This was followed by concert tours to various European countries, the USA, the Soviet Union, South America, India, Africa, China and Japan. From 1994 until her retirement, Edinger was professor at the Lübeck Academy of Music.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiane_Edinger

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