Has there ever existed a milder, more humble man who was also a great composer than César Franck? His ambitions were simple: to serve music and God with equal ­reverence. Here are 10 of the finest recordings of Franck's music, complete with links to the original Gramophone reviews.

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Symphony in D minor

Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Pierre Monteux (RCA)

‘For the designated French ‘specialist’ whose private passions lay with the German repertory, the Franck Symphony was obviously a godsend. And if there is a little more fire in Monteux's San Francisco recordings, hi s final recording, made in 1961 in Chicago , is at one a nd the same time ‘French’ in its energy, and refinement and projection of surface detail, and ‘German’ in its scope and richness of tone, with a special ability to settle magically into points of arrival and open them out.’

Gramophone Collection – Top Choice

Symphonic Variations & Piano Pieces

Bertrand Chamayou pf Olivier Latry harm Royal Scottish National Orchestra / Stéphane Denève

‘This is an outstanding release in every way. In fact, I cannot recall another that included all Franck’s masterpieces for the piano on a single disc and in which, moreover, every performance goes straight to the top of recommended recordings.’ Jeremy Nicholas (Gramophone, September 2010)

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Violin Sonata

Augustin Dumay vn Jean-Philippe Collard pf (Erato)

‘The main criticism often levied against this recording is that it can be too subtle at times, but for me the contrasts in it suggest a vocal element to the musical line, which gives it an almost human voice. This is particularly appealing, because Franck was so uninterested in words – it was the music in its purest form that concerned him; and his phrases take on an almost spoken element as a result.’

Gramophone Collection – Top Choice

Violin Sonata

Alina Ibragimova vn Cédric Tiberghien pf (Hyperion)

‘Soak up the weightless, time-suspended softness with which they begin: from Ibragimova a sweet, even sound that’s light-toned without being lightweight, supported by a touch from Tiberghien at the keyboard that sounds like mellow, amber-hued raindrops, and all the while a gradual crescendo and strengthening of tone from both so subtle that it happens almost imperceptibly.’ Charlotte Gardner (Gramophone, March 2019)

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Cello Sonata in A major

Bruno Philippe vc Tanguy de Williencourt pf (Harmonia Mundi)

‘Most striking of all with the Franck Sonata, though, is the degree of taut, softly bleak, black isolation that Philippe and de Willienwourt find in its Recitativo-Fantasia – listen from around 3'50" – after which the concluding Allegretto poco mosso plays out like a cathartic struggle back up to the light.’ Charlotte Gardner (Gramophone, January 2024)

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String Quartet. Piano Quintet

Paavali Jumppanen pf Quatuor Danel (CPO)

‘Both of these works have been admirably served on disc. I cherish the Malibran Quartet’s ardent account of the String Quartet (Cypres, 5/13) and Gabriel Tacchino’s incendiary version of the Quintet with the Quatuor Athenaeum-Enescu (Pierre Verany, 12/92), but this new recording by the Quatuor Danel and Paavali Jumppanen is the most gripping yet – and by a long shot. Urgently recommended.’ Andrew Farach-Colton (Gramophone, March 2018)

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Piano Quintet

Marc-André Hamelin pf Takács Quartet (Hyperion)

‘Their new recording of Franck’s Piano Quintet, one of the glories of the 19th-century French chamber repertory, stands comparison with some of the best, including Curzon/Vienna Philharmonic, Richter/Borodin and Cortot/International (formerly EMI).’ Patrick Rucker (Gramophone, June 2016)

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Piano Music

Stephen Hough pf (Hyperion)

‘Hough himself has a dream-ticket combination of virtues – astonishing agility, a faultless ear for texture, fine-tuned stylistic sensibility and an exceptional understanding of harmonic and structural tensions. He acknowledges all Franck’s nuances, notated and implied, without ever disturbing the broader flow; he gives full rein to the heroic Lisztian cascades, without ever tipping over into melodrama.’ David Fanning (Gramophone, April 1997)

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Trois Pieces & Trois Chorals

1880 Cavaillé-Coll organ, Cathédrale Saint-Croix, Orléans

Pétur Sakari org (BIS)

‘From the brilliance of his playing, the instrument chosen and BIS’s superlative recording, this stands out as something quite exceptional, even in the crowded field of outstanding Franck recordings.’ Marc Rochester (Gramophone, June 2021)

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Grandes œuvres pour orgue (À l'orgue de l'église Saint-Étienne de Caen)

Marie-Claire Alain org (Erato)

‘More than anyone else she delves into the very soul of these works. Thus we have an intensely prayerful Priere, a majestically statuesque Grande piece symphonique while the Chorales are delivered with an unexpected degree of fervour.’ Marc Rochester (Gramophone, July 1996)

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