Cesar Franck ( French  César Franck , full name Cesar Auguste Jean Guillaume Hubert Franck ( César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck ); December 10, 1822 , Liege  - November 8 , 1890 , Paris ) - French composer and organist of Belgian origin.

Frank was born into a German-Belgian family - his mother was from Aachen , his father, a bank clerk, from the Belgian village of Gemmenich. In 1830, Franck entered the Liege Conservatoire , from which he graduated four years later with honors in solfeggio and piano classes ; his main teacher was the director of the conservatory, Joseph Dossuan -Megul , who had Frank in 1833-1835  . continued to take private lessons in harmony. Inspired by his son's musical success, Frank's father was able to organize a series of concerts in Aachen, Liège and Brussels in the spring of 1835 .

In the same year, the family moved to Paris , where Franck entered the conservatory in the class of Professor Antonin Reicha . In 1838 , 1839 and 1841 Franck received first prizes at the final exams for piano , counterpoint and organ respectively. Franck had the opportunity to compete for the Prix de Rome , but at his father's insistence he returned to Belgium, where he performed successfully as a virtuoso pianist and organist.

In Belgium, Frank creates the first compositions: Piano Trio ( 1843 ) and sketches for the oratorio Ruth.

Two years later, against the will of his father, Frank again leaves for Paris, where he writes a symphonic poem "What is heard on the mountain" and begins work on the opera "Servant for Hire". In 1853, he received a position as organist at the church of Saint-Jean-Saint-Francois du Marais. Inspired by the art of the famous organist Jacques Lemmens , Franck begins to work on improving his performing skills, in particular, the technique of pedals and improvisation . On December 1, 1859, Franck was entrusted with the first performance on a newly built organ by the famous master Aristide Cavaillé-Coll in the church of Saint Clotilde . Frank worked as an organist in this church until the end of his life.

In 1871, François Benois , head of the organ class, left the Paris Conservatoire , and the vacant seat was offered to Franck. This required French citizenship, and the composer agreed to accept it. Frank officially took over the class in February 1872 . Among his pupils are a number of famous organists and composers, including Vincent d'Indy , Ernest Chausson and Guy Ropartz .

Since 1874, Frank created numerous works in various genres - oratorios, chamber ensembles, piano and organ compositions, etc. In 1885, the composer was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor , and a year later became president of the National Musical Society.

Frank died in 1890 of pleurisy following the flu . Buried at Montrouge ; later the ashes were transferred to the Montparnasse cemetery .

Franck's creative and pedagogical heritage was preserved, first of all, by his student d'Andy, who founded the Parisian Schola Cantorum in 1894 , and then by his students, who founded the Cesar Franck School in 1935 .

Creativity [ edit | edit code ]

 

Cesar Franck at the organ

 

Monument to composer S. Frank by sculptor Alfred Lenoir

Franck is one of the greatest composers of the 19th century. His work influenced the next generation of French composers, including Ernest Chausson , Claude Debussy , Maurice Ravel . Frank used in his writings the principle of the so-called "through development", based on the use of several themes, developing from one and carried out in all parts, and combining them in the finale, which gave the structure of the work greater stability and completeness. An integral part of Frank's heritage are compositions for organ, an instrument that the composer was excellent at. Many call him the greatest composer for this instrument after Bach.. Franck's organ compositions, written in a typical late Romantic style, with numerous modulations and elements of improvisation, served as the forerunners of large-scale compositions by Charles Widor , Louis Vierne , Marcel Dupré .