Franck outraged even his own wife, who railed against his symphony's ‘morally compromising sensuality and passion!’
Performed by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Bertrand de Billy
Bertrand de Billy Photo: Marco Borggreve, ex debilly.com
César Franck wrote his only symphony between 1886 to 1888 during the last decade of his life. He called it a symphony in response to his students who ‘demanded’ he try the form. Franck produced not so much a work in the tradition of Beethoven, but a hybrid - combining elements of both symphony and symphonic poem.
Franck’s opening theme is a rewrite of the phrase in Beethoven’s final string quartet that had the appended words: ‘Muss es sein?’ (Must it be?)
Like much of Franck’s other work, the Symphony was at first, a failure. The end of the premiere performance was met with an icy silence. Neither public nor press understood it. But according to Vincent d'Indy, after Franck returned home from the disastrous premiere, his family gingerly asked if he was pleased and he said, beaming, "It sounded well – just as I thought it would!"
When he was asked if the work was inspired by a particular idea, Franck said “No, it is just music, nothing but pure music”
Recorded by RNZ in Auckland Town Hall, 22 August 2019
Producer: Tim Dodd; Engineer: Rangi Powick
