Louise Farrenc (1804-1875) was a popular figure in mid-19th century France, as both pianist and composer. It was mostly her piano music that survived (she taught piano for many years at the Paris Conservatory), and even that fell into eclipse during the modernist tyranny. The end of the 20th century brought her rediscovery, but her considerable body of orchestral music began to emerge only in the late 2010s. This 2020 release by Les Solistes Européenes, Luxembourg, under Christoph König, is the second of a pair unearthing ...
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Louise Farrenc (1804-1875) was a popular figure in mid-19th century France, as both pianist and composer. It was mostly her piano music that survived (she taught piano for many years at the Paris Conservatory), and even that fell into eclipse during the modernist tyranny. The end of the 20th century brought her rediscovery, but her considerable body of orchestral music began to emerge only in the late 2010s. This 2020 release by Les Solistes Européenes, Luxembourg, under Christoph König, is the second of a pair unearthing her symphonies, and both have been commercially successful. The Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 32, is in the vein of Mendelssohn, and even if it doesn't threaten to displace that composer's symphonies from the repertory, it's a well-made work with a lovely slow movement. The influence of Farrenc's teacher, Anton Reicha, is also audible. The two overtures that follow are unremarkable, but the sole example of Farrenc's piano music, the Grand variations on a theme by Count Gallenberg,...
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