César Franck (jan 1, 1822 – jan 1, 1890)
Description:
a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life.War Brings Symphonies to France
1. In addition to Dvořák’s “New World,” American symphonists looked to Franck’s
Symphony in D Minor as a model for composition.
2. Unlike other French composers, Franck made his reputation solely on instrumental music.
3. In 1871, after the Germans defeated the French, French musicians (headed by Saint Saëns) formed a National Music Society with the motto Ars gallica. Its purpose was to support serious French compositions.
4. In 1889, Franck premiered a Symphony in D Minor, which evokes Beethoven’s Ninth by key association.
5. Franck’s music is marked by cyclicism, frequent modulation, Wagnerian chromaticism, and spirituality.
6. His organ compositions also are inspired by Bach's contrapuntal techniques paired with Beethoven and Wagner's overarching structures, such as ternary and sonata form, as well has their harmonic idioms of the time.
Added to timeline:
Date:
jan 1, 1822
jan 1, 1890
~ 68 years