Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 35
Louise Farrenc
(b. May 31, 1804 in Paris, France; d. September 15, 1875 in Paris, France)
In 1850, after a triumphant premiere of her new Nonet—in which the 19-year-old superstar violinist Joseph Joachim gladly participated—Louise Farrenc went to the director of the Paris Conservatory with a demand. She, the sole female professor at the institution, was being paid less than her male colleagues. Backed by the success of her work and her unassailable reputation, she demanded equal pay. And she got it. This story is the key to understanding Farrenc: a formidable, first-rate figure who knew her worth.
The "Second to None" title of this program is built on this piece: a powerful, brilliant symphony, also in D Major, that stands proudly alongside the Beethoven Second. Written in 1845, it is a muscular, dramatic, and impeccably crafted work. While her French contemporaries were obsessed with opera, Farrenc dedicated herself to the grand Germanic symphonic tradition of Beethoven, Schubert, and Mendelssohn.
The symphony was not kept a secret. It premiered successfully on February 21, 1846, performed by the most prestigious orchestra in France, the Société des concerts du Conservatoire. Critics praised its brilliance. But this success was not enough to overcome the "virulent, virtually unanimous" bias against women composers. Like most works by women of the era, it was not published and vanished after her death. Its disappearance for over a century had nothing to do with its quality and everything to do with gender.
The symphony follows a traditional four-movement structure.
1- Allegro: The symphony opens with a muscular, propulsive first theme, pure Beethovenian drama. This forceful energy is then contrasted with a more lyrical, song-like second theme.
2- Andante: This is an elegant, gentle slow movement in a minor key. It’s particularly notable for its beautiful writing for the wind instruments, a skill Farrenc honed in her celebrated chamber music.
3- Scherzo: Vivace: A fast, light, and rhythmically playful "joke" movement, full of quick, scampering energy that brings to mind the elfin scherzos of Felix Mendelssohn.
4- Allegro: The finale is a brilliant, high-energy conclusion that drives forward relentlessly, ending the symphony in a blaze of orchestral color.
Her success was supported by a private life that was utterly atypical for the 19th century. She and her husband, the flutist and music publisher Aristide Farrenc, were a true team. They shared child-raising duties, and he supported her career by publishing her early works.
Farrenc's early composition teacher, Antonín Rejcha (known in Western Europe as Anton Reicha), also taught Liszt and Berlioz. He specialized in chamber music for woodwinds even though he himself didn’t play them. He might have declined to take Farrenc as a student but she had a consummate understanding of writing for woodwinds, a conjugal benefit of her marriage to Aristide, a virtuoso on the flute. It was a lucky alignment and, clearly, Reicha helped build her formidable reputation. One might speculate, however, he steered her away from larger forms, as she composed all her symphonies only after his death.
Her revival was long delayed because so many of her works were unpublished. In recent decades, publishers have tried to copyright these "newly discovered" 150-year-old works and a battle has ensued. Music lovers have triumphed and virtually all these works are in the public domain. Volunteer efforts around the world have since typeset much of her unpublished music—including all three symphonies—and placed it online for all to access, perform, and cherish.
(c) 2025 by Steven Hollingsworth
Creative Commons Public Attribution 3.0 United States License
contact: steve@trecorde.net
