Symphony in D minor (Franck)

Franck, a naturalised French citizen from 1871 until his death, was born in 1822 in what is now Belgium, and was of half-German ancestry.[1] He was a founding member of the Société nationale de musique, founded in 1871 to promote French music, but remained an admirer of German music and was less troubled than some of his colleagues about what was called "L'invasion germanique" of music in France in the 1870s.[2] In the view of the music critics Edward Sackville-West and Desmond Shawe-Taylor, "the quality of [Franck's] imagination, his resolution of formal problems, and the extreme chromaticism of his harmony are decidedly Germanic".[3] When the Société split in 1883 over the admission of non-French musicians, Franck and his former student Vincent d'Indy were keen proponents of admitting German and other composers.[4]

Franck came to his creative peak in his late fifties. His Piano Quintet and the oratorio Les Béatitudes appeared in 1879, the Symphonic Variations in 1885 and the Violin Sonata in 1886.[5] In 1887 he began sketches for a symphony – a musical form more associated with German than with French music.[1] Saint-Saëns's two-movement "Organ" Symphony had been well received the previous year, but only one earlier symphony by a French composer had firmly established itself in the international orchestral repertoire: Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique composed in 1830.[6] Like Berlioz,[7] Franck revered Beethoven, and several commentators[n 1] have noted the influence of Beethoven, particularly the late string quartets, on the symphony, both as to form – Franck adopted a cyclic structure – and content.[6][9][10] Like Berlioz, Franck departed from the customary four-movement form of the classical symphony of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven; unlike Berlioz, whose symphony has five movements, Franck limited himself to three.[6] He dedicated the work "To my friend Henri Duparc" (a former pupil who was at that time a colleague in the Société).[2][11]

Paris's symphony orchestras had a reputation for conservatism and avoiding modern works, but the Société des concerts of the Paris Conservatoire was an exception, giving performances of new works including Saint-Saëns's "Organ" Symphony (1888).[12] Franck's symphony was first performed on 17 February 1889 in the concert hall of the Conservatoire by the orchestra of the Société conducted by Jules Garcin.[12]

The piece divided opinion. Le Figaro commented, "The new work of M. César Franck is a very important composition and developed with the resources of the powerful art of the learned musician; but it is so dense and tight that we cannot grasp all its aspects and feel its effect at a first hearing, despite the analytical and thematic note that had been distributed to the audience". The paper contrasted the "exuberant enthusiasm" of some listeners with the coolness of the reception from others.[12] There were some hostile comments. Gounod was reported as calling the work "the affirmation of impotence taken to the point of dogma".[13] [n 2] Exception was taken in conservative quarters to Franck's orchestration: Vincent d'Indy said that an unnamed colleague of Franck's on the faculty of the Conservatoire asked, "Who ever heard of a cor anglais in a symphony? Just name a single symphony by Haydn or Beethoven introducing the cor anglais".[14][n 3] Franck's use of the brass was criticised as being too blatant, with cornets added to the usual orchestral trumpets.[16]

At a later hearing of the work, Le Ménestrel balanced criticism and praise: it found the music gloomy and pompous, with little to say, but saying it "with the conviction of the Pope pronouncing on dogma".[17] Nonetheless, Le Ménestral judged the work a considerable achievement, worthy of a musician with noble tendencies, though one who had made the excusable mistake of "aspiring to a pedestal a little too high for him".[17]

From the 1920s to around the 1970s, the symphony was popular with audiences and was frequently performed by leading U.S. orchestras, but since then it has substantially declined in prominence and is no longer part of the orchestral canon. In 2022, musicians attributed this to changing musical tastes, an overfamiliarity with the music, or the spirituality of the processional slow movement becoming less relevant in a more secular age.[18]

The work has been infrequently programmed in concert halls in recent years,[20] but has been much recorded. The BBC published a list of recordings in connection with its programme Record Review, on which a comparative review of recordings was broadcast in 2017:[21]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: César Franck

• List of compositions by César Franck
• Société nationale de musique
• Romantic music

• Symphony in D minor: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project