Search - Louise Farrenc, Johannes Goritzki, Hannover Radio Symphony Orchestra :: Louise Farrenc: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3

Louise Farrenc Symphonies

Richard Schubert | Bethesda, MD United States | 01/13/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There seem to be at least four ways to be be forgotten or at least made obscure as a composer. One is not to be very good (think: Carl Friedrick Abel who, while not entirely forgotten, should be); another is to be remarkably talented but in the end lack something(think: Louis Spohr, who could do it all and do it well, even brilliantly, but in the end lacked one key element: the gift of melody); third, someone who is at least somewhat forgotten but shouldn't be (think: Cherubini who, while certainly not forgotten, deserves a much wider position on the scale of the 'greats'); and fourth, to be expert but either a direct copycat (think Vanhal and Gyrowetz sounding like Haydn) or derivative (which brings me to Louise Farrenc).

Madame Farrenc was appointed professor of piano at the Paris Conservatory by Auber, the only woman to hold such a position in the 19th century. But her talents clearly extend beyond the piano, as the two symphonies presented here readily show. Each is quite different from the other. Each shows a vigor and melodic gift which are not only impressive but engaging. Her music sometimes sounds like Schubert or Vorisek, sometimes Mendelssohn or Schumann, sometimes even looking forward to Berwald and occasionally even a little proto-Brahms. This is why she is not an even greater composer- she never really developed her own voice, something that makes you hear it on the radio and say "ahh, that's Farrenc."

The above notwithstanding, I like her music a great deal. Every so often, I would put my book down (something I often do when listening to music) and would look up and close my eyes to listen without any other interruption. She has wonderful ideas, sometimes brilliant, occasionally even magnificent.

My own favorite is the adagio cantabile (appropriately named) of the G-minor Third Symphony. Although elsewhere she shows herself able to master more complex development and scherzo ideas, this movement is mostly melodic- but what melodies and how transcendantly handled (even with an occaional 'trite' modulation). Cantabile indeed! It shimmers, especially in the clarinet's voice. On the strength of this movement alone, she deserves to be remembered.

Overall, this is well played very agreeable music, occasionally stirring, not infrequently very emotionally satisfying, and occasionally reaching even higher levels.

But I can't help but wonder what Brahms could have done with these melodies and these ideas.

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