Description

FRANCIS PLANTÉ (ORTHEZ, FRANCE 2 MARCH 1839 – ST.-AVIT, FRANCE 19 DECEMBER 1934)

He was a French pianist famed as one of the first ever recording artists. He was France’s most important pianist in the nineteenth century, apart from Chopin. He studied piano under Antoine Marmontel, his career beginning at the age of seven in Paris. While there he met and befriended many like-minded musicians who would have a long-lasting effect on his career. These included Franz Liszt, with whom he played arrangements of two of Liszt’s symphonic poems (Les Préludes, and Tasso, Lamento e Trionfo) for 2 pianos, Hector Berlioz, Gioachino Rossini, Charles Gounod, Felix Mendelssohn, Sigismond Thalberg and Charles-Marie Widor. It is also known that he himself heard Frédéric Chopin play, and because of this, his recordings – and indeed the one film available of him – are seen as a link to a ‘lost world’ of piano performance. He toured the concert platforms of Europe after leaving Paris, expanding his reputation for quality of tone and virtuosic, emotional interpretations. The death of his wife in 1908 resulted in him retiring from the stage, except for charity performances and concerts in aid of those wounded in the First World War. He had many pupils, including Alexander Brailowsky. He died in Saint-Avit. Francis Planté’s style is considered very different from modern-day recording artists. The recordings available suggest a more paced performance with a more prominent accent on each beat and with the notes more pronounced.

TRACKLIST

1. Etude Op.10, No.4 in C-sharp minor (Chopin) Columbia WLX 515 D 15091
2. Etude Op.10, No.5 in G-flat major (Chopin) Columbia WLX 513 D 15090
3. Etude Op.10, No.7 in C major (Chopin) Columbia WL 1231 D 13060
4. Etude Op.25, No.1 in A-flat major (Chopin) Columbia WLX 511 D 15090
5. Etude Op.25, No.2 in F minor (Chopin) Columbia WL 1229 D 13060
6. Etude Op.25, No.9 in G-flat major (Chopin) Columbia WL 1230 D 13059
7. Etude Op.25, No.11 in A minor (Chopin) Columbia WLX 516 D 15089
8. Gavotte (Gluck-Plante) Columbia WL 1218 D 13062
9. Serenade (Berlioz-Redon) Columbia WL 1220 D 13061
10. Minuetto (Boccherini-Plante) Columbia WL 1219 D 13062
11. Scherzo in E minor, Op.16, No.2 (Mendelssohn) Columbia WL 1221 D 13057
12. Song without words Op.19, No.3 (Mendelssohn) Columbia WL 1228 D 13059
13. Song without words Op.67, No.6 (Mendelssohn) Columbia WL 1227 D 13058
14. Song without words Op.62, No.6 (Mendelssohn) Columbia WL 1225 D 13057
15. Song without words Op.67, No.4 (Mendelssohn) Columbia WL 1226 D 13058
16. Romanza Op.28, No.2 (Schumann) Columbia WL 1217 D 13061
17. Romanza Op.32, No.2 (Schumann) Columbia WLX 506 D 15091
18. Am Springbrunnen (Schumann-Debussy) Columbia WLX 509 D 15089