Franck: Between Two Worlds Yannick Van de Velde

• César Franck (1822 - 1890): Prélude, choral et fugue, FWV 21:
• 1 Franck: Prélude, choral et fugue, FWV 21: I. Prélude 05:03
• 2 Franck: Prélude, choral et fugue, FWV 21: II. Choral 05:16
• 3 Franck: Prélude, choral et fugue, FWV 21: III. Fugue 08:57
• Prélude, fugue et variation, FWV 30:
• 4 Franck: Prélude, fugue et variation, FWV 30: I. Prélude (Transcribed by I. Friedman) 03:53
• 5 Franck: Prélude, fugue et variation, FWV 30: II. Fugue (Transcribed by I. Friedman) 02:32
• 6 Franck: Prélude, fugue et variation, FWV 30: III. Variation (Transcribed by I. Friedman) 03:30
• Prélude, aria et final, FWV 23:
• 7 Franck: Prélude, aria et final, FWV 23: I. Prélude 09:23
• 8 Franck: Prélude, aria et final, FWV 23: II. Aria 05:44
• 9 Franck: Prélude, aria et final, FWV 23: III. Final 07:39
• Violin Sonata in A Major, FWV 8:
• 10 Franck: Violin Sonata in A Major, FWV 8: I. Allegretto ben moderato (Transcribed by A. Cortot) 06:23
• 11 Franck: Violin Sonata in A Major, FWV 8: II. Allegro (Transcribed by A. Cortot) 08:34
• 12 Franck: Violin Sonata in A Major, FWV 8: III. Recitativo - Fantasia (Ben moderato - Largamente - Molto vivace) [Transcribed by A. Cortot] 08:02
• 13 Franck: Violin Sonata in A Major, FWV 8: IV. Allegretto poco mosso (Transcribed by A. Cortot) 06:47
• Total Runtime 01:21:43

Info for Franck: Between Two Worlds

Chopin's delicate lyricism, popular in the French salons where Chopin performed, fell out of fashion with the rise of German-Austrian domination in the country in the second half of the nineteenth century

Beginning in the 1870s, however, French composers in Paris made it their mission to return their music to its roots. And because they had such a rich heritage of keyboard repertoire to draw upon, some of the greatest works of the period were written in this medium. Fauré, Dukas, Chabrier, Saint-Saëns, and many others composed music for the instrument, each with his own personal voice and yet (almost) always striving to free himself from the shackles of Austro-German influence and remain distinctly French in style. While his contemporaries created a multitude of works for solo piano, César Franck completed only two large-scale works - Prelude, Chorale and Fugue and Prelude, Aria and Finale.

It was not until 1884, with the publication of Prelude, Chorale and Fugue, that César Franck began to develop his personal voice - innovative and pioneering, but at the same time reverent of the greats of the past and with a spirituality both introverted and extroverted, in which one can find many parallels with the late works of Beethoven. And in a century when piano music was dominated by German masters such as Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms, this work can arguably be called the most important addition to French piano literature since the time of Rameau.

Although far less frequently performed in concert than Prelude, Chorale and Fugue, Prelude, Aria and Finale is no less masterful in its construction, and since it was written in September 1887, it was to be the last work he wrote for the instrument. The Prelude, Chorale and Fugue is clearly religious in character, while Prelude, Aria and Finale is a more secular variant of this three-part structural plan. This is made clear by the titles of the slow movements (a chorale is a divine song of spirituality, while the aria, with its operatic connotations, is more human) and the last movements (fugues are strongly associated with church music, while the finale has no such connection)

It was not until 1886 that Franck published his first and only sonata for violin and piano. And with this work, Franck finally received the recognition and admiration that had eluded a man of his talents for so many years. Here van der Velde plays it in the rare arrangement for solo piano by Alfred Cortot. The fourth piece on this recording is the even rarer transcription of the Prélude, Fugue and Variations by the great Polish virtuoso Ignaz Friedman.

Yannick van de Velde, piano

Yannick Van de Velde
Passionate, sensitive, intelligent, and talented, these are a few words one can think of when listening to Yannick Van de Velde’s piano playing. He is among the summit of the musical scene in Belgium and across Europe.

Born into a family of musicians, he quickly became devoted to music. His ever-growing passion for music brings him on an exciting road as pianist and musician.

Mr. Van de Velde is a prizewinner in many international competitions: he was finalist of the Busoni Competition in Bolzano, Italy (2015), “Prix d’Argent” and Public Prize in the Piano Campus Competition in Paris, and first prize in the Nany Phillepart Foundation Competition.

Yannick Van de Velde has strong experience as a soloist as well as a chamber musician. Among his repertoire are more than 30 concerti and integral music of Maurice Ravel. He has played under the baton of conductors such as Erich Lederhändler, Etienne Siebens, Michael Hofstätter, Ivo Venkov, Fabrice Parmentier, and others. Among his chamber music partners are members of the Berliner Philhamoniker: Nobuko Imai, Eldar Nebolsin, Michel Arrignon, ...

Strongly interested in contemporary music, he played the world premiere of “Chanson” for piano and orchestra by Jean-Frédéric Neuburger and “Dream” of Frederic Rzweski.

Yannick Van de Velde performed across the world in famous venues such as the Philharmonie of Berlin, the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Lincoln Center in New York, Center of Fine Arts and studio 4 of Flagey in Brussels, Casa da Musica in Porto, Palacio de Festivales in Santander, …

Mr. Van de Velde has studied with Klaus Hellwig, Elisso Virsaladze, Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, and Jan Michiels. He also has been strongly influenced by great personalities such as Arie Vardi, Menahem Pressler, Paul Badura-Skoda, Hung-Kuan Chen, Evgeny Koroliov, Rudolf Buchbinder, Brigitte Engerer, Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Robert McDonald, and Jerome Lowenthal.

Booklet for Franck: Between Two Worlds