Franck: Symphony in D Minor

Meet the acclaimed French conductor Marie Jacquot who leads the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in César Franck’s only full-scale symphony, the Symphony in D minor, which premiered at the end of the vibrant 1880s. Franck was actually born in Liège, Belgium, but from the age of 13 lived in Paris, where he eventually worked as a beloved and respected pedagogue and as one of the most brilliant organists of his time. During his last 10-15 years of life, he entered a completely new and mature phase as a composer, and around ten new organ works from that time came to revolutionize the genre.

His violin sonata in A major became one of the most played masterpieces of the chamber literature, and his symphony in D minor is a marvel in its synthesis of Germanic chromaticism and Gallic elegance.