Here are two of the three surviving string quartets
of Eduard Franck. All three have been recorded by Audite. Franck
was a pupil of Mendelssohn who rated Franck's work very highly.
Franck was the son of a family deeply rooted in the banking activity
of Breslau.
The C minor quartet (Op.55) has a pattering,
purposeful and almost ruthless Allegro. It is startling
and really catches the imagination. The Allegretto makes
for a rest after such unrelenting activity offering ‘stillness
and the night’ from another age. The vivace third movement
has a Hungarian restlessness of mood. In the mercurial finale
the moods melt and move but the music is nowhere near as dark
as that of the first movement. The Op.54 Quartet starts
with a reverent Adagio of the same mien as the Adagietto
of the Op. 55 work. The Olympian calm continues into the powerfully
sustained second movement (Adagio molto espressivo). After
two Adagios come two Allegros in which quicksilver
restlessness and contentment are the order of the day.
In common with the other three Audite Francks
the detailed booklet notes are by Franck scholar, Michael Struck-Schloen.
The excellent audio qualities of the recording add lustre to these
world premiere recordings.
Rob Barnett
Edinger Quartet (Christiane
Edinger (violin 1), Alexander Kortschmar (violin 2), Igor Budinstein (viola),
Katharina Maechler (cello))