Marie Luise Neunecker, Horn
Mathias Weber, Piano
Lübeck Philharmonic Orchestra
Roman Brogli-Sacher

First part of the program of „Lübeck Philharmonic live, vol. 6“ is built up logically: RichardStrauss‘ father, Franz Strauss, was one of the most prominent horn virtuosos of the time, and that the horn was one of the instruments for which Richard had a predilection throughout his life. With his „Serenade“ Strauss junior convinced the famous conductor Hans von Bülow of his talent. Von Bülow took over the piece into the tournee program of his famous Meininger Hofkapelle. There is a close coincidence between the first concerto in C Minor op. 8 by Franz Strauss to the horn concerto op. 11 of his son who obviously orientated himself at the romantic stile of the father. The horn virtuoso himself premiered his own concerto in C Minor in spring 1865 during an academy in the Odeon concert house in Munich.

Born in the same year as Franz Strauss, Franck received his first music lessons and made his first public appearances as pianist before moving with his parents to Paris, where he became a pupil of Anton Reicha. From 1846 Franck was active as organist at various Parisian churches, from 1858 until his death in 1890 as titular organist of St. Clothilde’s. César Franck became an indispensable personality in France’s musical life. In 1871 he was a cofounder of the Société Nationale de Musique, and later elected its president; in 1872 he was appointed Professor of Organ at the Paris Conservatoire, where his pupils included Vincent d’Indy, Ernest Chausson, Guillaume Lekeu, and Henri Duparc. Characteristic of Franck’s mature style is the so-called “cyclical form” – a formal concept that attained full significance only in the works from Franck’s last decade. This period also saw the composition of his today most well-known works, which of course attained their great popularity only after his death. The Piano Quintet is considered the beginning, the “portal work,” whose tendencies and motifs are taken up again in later works such as the D-Minor Symphony, the Violin Sonata, and the String Quartet. Premiered in its original form on 17 January 1880 in the Société Nationale de Musique, the work experienced its premiere in the expanded form of a “Symphony for Orchestra and Piano” on 8 June 2008 with Mathias Weber, who made the arrangement, performing the piano part.