Richard Franck - Piano Trios (Christoph Schickedanz; Thomas Blees; Bernhard Fograscher)

Information

Composer: Richard Franck

• (01) Piano Trio in B minor, Op. 20
• (05) Piano Trio in E flat major, Op. 32

Christoph Schickedanz, violin

Thomas Blees, cello

Bernhard Fograscher, piano

Date: 2003

Label: Audite

https://audite.de/en/product/CD/97487-r_franck_piano_trio_op_20_op_32.html

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Review

A previous Audite release introduced the string quartets of Eduard Franck, a friend and pupil of Felix Mendelssohn (see review Q6308). His eldest son Richard Franck (1858-1938) made a name for himself independent of his father and produced a considerable body of works in many genres. Where Eduard’s music understandably reflects his association with Mendelssohn, Richard’s indicates a wider range of influences.

The B minor trio (1893) opens with a dramatic Beethovenian allegro that soon melts into a lyrical, Schubert-like second theme. In fact, Schubert’s rhythmic and harmonic style informs much of the remaining movements, particularly the Andante and Allegretto. The Finale begins with a swirling tarantella followed by a bucolic secondary theme fully worthy of the Austrian composer, and closes the work in a satisfyingly triumphant flourish.

The Trio in E-flat was premiered seven years later in 1900, by which time the influence of Johannes Brahms had found its way into Franck’s music. The first movement echoes the songful strains of Brahms’ Second Violin Sonata (though Franck gives much greater prominence to the piano), and the scherzo reveals traces of Brahms’ modulation technique. However, Franck’s own melodic style (which is less formulaic and more free-flowing than Brahms) comes to the fore in the serene Adagio and jovial Finale. Both trios receive committed, handsomely played performances from violinist Christoph Schickendanz, cellist Thomas Blees, and pianist Bernhard Fograscher. Audite’s recording is well balanced in a satisfyingly warm acoustic.

-- Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday

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Richard Franck (3 January 1858 – 22 January 1938) was a German pianist, composer and teacher, the son of composer Eduard Franck. Richard studied at the Leipzig Conservatory with Carl Reinecke and Salomon Jadassohn. During the course of a long career, Franck held teaching positions at conservatories in Germany and Switzerland. Although did not reach the front rank amongst his contemporaries, he was well respected as a concert artist and as a composer. His compositions are mainly for solo piano; however, he also wrote orchestral and vocal compositions, as well as a considerable amount of chamber music.

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

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Christoph Schickedanz (born 1969 in Darmstadt) is a German violinist. Schickedanz studied with Jörg Hofmann in Freiburg, Franco Gulli in Bloomington, Indiana, USA and Uwe-Martin Haiberg in Berlin. He is presently member of the Gililov Piano Quartet Berlin (ex Berlin Philharmonic Piano Quartet) and the Johannes-Kreisler-Piano-Trio. In addition to the standard repertoire, Schickedanz has dedicated himself to the performance of neglected or forgotten composers. He has recorded many CDs for labels Audite, cpo, One World and Telos, and also made recordings for broadcasting stations all over Germany.
http://www.christoph-schickedanz.de

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Bernhard Fograscher was born in 1965 in Romania and received his musical studies from the Meistersinger-Konservatorium Nürnberg, the Hamburg Musikhochschule and the Indiana University Bloomington, U.S.A. He has given concerts in numerous European countries, the USA and Mexico, and produced recordings for BR, SWR, WDR, NDR, TV Cultural, TV Romania, Radio Difusione Romania, as well as for American radio stations. His discography can be found on Audite, Bayer Records and Telos Music Records He has been teaching at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg since 2005.

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