Bernhard Fograscher - Richard Franck: Piano Quartets & Fantasies (2007/2020) [Hi-Res]

This recording is a further addition to audite's successful series of music by Eduard and Richard Franck - father and son. Like his father, Eduard, Richard Franck (1858-1938), one of the last representatives of late Romanticism, won a reputation as a fi ne pianist. In 1907 the Basler Nationalzeitung commented: "His outstanding quality is the art of making the piano sing he is by turns tender and soft, warm and full of life." But this former pupil of Reinecke also enjoyed a high reputation as a composer of chamber music and piano pieces. A contemporary reviewer in the Casseler Allgemeine Zeitung wrote in 1905: "The recital ended with the Piano Quartet in E, Op. 41 [...].

Here again all the familiar qualities of Franck's writing were in evidence: glorious melodies, unaffectedly natural harmony, rich invention and beautiful voice-leading, all combined with rhythmic verve and vitality." Richard Franck's Fantasia for Pianoforte Op. 28 and the Piano Quartets Op. 33 and Op. 41 were written when Franck was at the height of his powers. The music captivates the listener with its sophisticated treatment of the musical material and the effective interaction of the four instruments. The recording pays close attention to detail while at the same time being both spacious and well-balanced.

Marius Nichiteanu, viola
Bernhard Fograscher, piano
Christoph Schickedanz, violin
Mathias Beyer-Karlshoj, cello