Louise Farrenc: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3

Remember when the dearth of female conductors was a ‘thing’? Here’s where ‘good outrage’ on social media has worked; today, you can’t swing a cat without hitting a fine conductor of the female variety on the podiums before major orchestras or working with them in the recording studio. Conductors such as Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Susanna Mälkki, Barbara Hannigan and Nathalie Stutzmann, among many others, are making that particular nasty hegemony a thing of the past. Just this year Stutzmann was been appointed MD of Atlanta with Mirga and Mälkki shortlisted for every major job.

Next up for the overseers and the Twitterati? Female composers. This problem—because of the lack of opportunity for woman composers for most of musical history—may take a little longer to resolve. But record companies like Naxos, CPO, TRPTK and many others are doing their part to bring quality works of female composers to light.

My long overdue enlightenment about female composers has thankfully begun, although I’ve always been for great music no matter the gender. I’ve played and enjoyed Amy Beach, Clara Schumann and our flute Goddess, Cécile Chaminade (her fabulous Concertino for flute and orchestra, Opus 107). Some of my best friends…

Recently, there was a bit of a bump on my enlightenment road on a real road trip in and around Southern Ontario. After reading all the PR in my inbox and inundated about it on social media, I thought I better give the new DG/Philly Florence Price symphony recording a listen on our rental Rav 4’s crap stereo. For all her earnest effort, I’m not a fan of Price’s cobbled late Romanticism laced with southern charm. And I do like a little bit of motivic development. Worse, when I got back in front of my reference system, the recording was not good.

It was fortuitous that a kind reader’s comment on the somewhat unflattering review appreciated my honesty and directed me to the lady of the hour, Louise Farrenc (1804 —1875). Just like Price, unknown to me. So, thank you Marshall for the heads up. She’s a wonderful composer I shall return to again and again. And readers, she is very worthy of your time.

Louise Farrenc (1804 —1875) was a French composer, virtuoso pianist and teacher.

I’m not sure why the quality of her symphonies surprised me—she was a teacher at the Paris Conservatoire and much admired by Schumann (whose music shows the most influence) and Berlioz. She also had the great taste to marry a flutist.

Although admired and a respected professor, she still had difficulty getting heard. She couldn’t even get a libretto to write an opera. And like many composers after death, mostly forgotten.

Yet, as for recordings in the here and now, Apple Music lists exactly 41, the same number as Florence Price on Qobuz. So, there’s that, for what it’s worth. But, in these two symphonies, there’s real quality.

Both are far more than imitated classical style. Sure, you’ll hear influences of Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Schumann, and, why not? The influences of those, and late Haydn and Schubert, have been manna from heaven for umpteen fine composers. Some have suggested the influence of Mozart, but I don’t hear it.

Both Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 35 and Symphony No. 3 in G minor, Op. 36 follow standard classical symphonic form: slow intro, sonata form mvt, slow mvt, scherzo then finale. From the striking ‘Andante’ intro of Symphony No. 2, we are in for a melodic and harmonic treat, full of drama with beautifully realized suspensions, followed by a well argued and developed sonata form movement. It’s in both symphonies’ opening movements where I hear Schumann, and, at least as well orchestrated.

I find the 3rd Symphony even more dramatic and consequential than the fine 2nd. The 3rd has a particularly brilliant scherzo that echoes Beethoven (7th) and Mendelssohn, and precursors Bruckner in his fleet and mysterious early symphony scherzos.

Her inspiration and personal talent goes with obvious technique for orchestration. Each movement is crafted carefully with much melodic inspiration and the one thing I missed so much in the Price works, motivic development, and all that entails for each movement’s interest. On this evidence, Farrenc was a master of classical form.

Let’s hope we see more releases of quality female composers—and our first thought is ‘what a fine composer’ with no gender attachment. Far more are now being discovered and recorded.

So, here, do we have France’s greatest symphonist? For sure, at least the most formally ‘classical’. More discovery is needed, and, though from different eras, I’ll take Farrenc’s superb symphonies over Chausson’s Symphony in B-flat major, Op. 20 or Vincent D’indy’s woeful Symphony on a French Mountain Air Op. 25 anytime. But, there’s always Symphonie Fantastique and good examples by Dutilleux, Bizet and Saint-Saëns, not forgetting another hugely underrated composer, but, of the male variety, Magnard.

The performances by the meet-once-a-year Luxembourg band are exemplary. The crystal clear recording allows the listener to hear a few slips of intonation and the odd thinness in violin tone on important high entries, but small things in an otherwise superb release. And my playback of choice was a 24/96 Qobuz file that allowed me to hear all the drama and brilliance Farrenc brought to her symphonies.

I listened to her Etudes, Op. 26. Good, but maybe a little reminiscent of a talented piano teacher’s written exercises for her students. Her Nonet (original score available on IMSLP) is wonderful and will be featured on a new TRPTK recording set for release this year.

Solistes Européens, Luxembourg—Christoph König

Recorded: March 2016 and March 2017

Recording Venue: Philharmonie Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Release Date: 27th Apr 2018

Catalogue No: 8573706

Label: Naxos

Length: 67 minutes