Might As Well make It a Good One

I guess if you are only going to write one symphony, you may as well make it a good one and I think it's fair to say that Cesar Franck did. Memorable tunes, intelligent development and fine orchestration. Franck was Belgian but is looked upon as "French" and the symphony reflects a Germanic influence. It deserves a solid place in the repertoire. although maybe it's a shame some of his other works don't get a little more exposure. This disk features the conductor Lorin Maazel and the Franck is performed with the Radio Symphonie Orchester Berlin. The other work on the disk sees him conducting the Berliner Philharmonicker in Mendelssohn's Symphony No 5, Reformation. A contrast, in that Franck was in his sixties when he composed his symphony and Mendelssohn only 21 when he wrote the Reformation. Not as obviously tuneful as some of his other orchestral works, it nevertheless has a sense of freshness and vitality. To be honest, I had forgotten that I had any recording of it, since this disk in my mind was thought of only as "the Franck".