Est 1923

Franck Orchestral Works

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: César Franck

Label: Sony Classical

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 63

Mastering:

DDD

Catalogue Number: SK58958

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
Symphony César Franck, Composer
Carlo Maria Giulini, Conductor
César Franck, Composer
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonic Variations César Franck, Composer
Carlo Maria Giulini, Conductor
César Franck, Composer
Paul Crossley, Piano
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
In the Symphonic Variations, Crossley avoids Lisztian flamboyance and generalized 'romantic' inflexion and yet there is plenty that is individually and imaginatively shaped (not least the finale's 'cadenza'); and both he and Giulini maintain a sense of flow and direction. I particularly liked the way Crossley gently accelerates out of the mists of the last variation into the spirited finale, and would only question whether Giulini's strings are quiet enough for much of this last variation: a ''dreaming passage'' (Tovey) that is more properly raptly meditative under Martinon in his 1960 recording.
Enthusiastic applause greets both performances on this disc, though Sony's box and booklet inform us that only the symphony was recorded live. The note writer also tells us that the symphony's first Allegro is ''fiery and energetic'', and that the finale begins ''spiritedly''. But fire, energy and spirit are conspicuously absent from this performance of the symphony, Giulini's third recording, probably the slowest on disc, and one that is, surprisingly, lacking the authority and conviction needed to sustain the slow tempos. Even the central Allegretto is subjected to an extreme slowing for the first 'Trio' (1'44''), from which the initial tempo is never recovered. Sony's sound is first-rate.'

Franck Orchestral Works

Symphony

Symphonic Variations

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