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BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

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Composer of the Week

Music: Classical

An informative guide to composers' lives and their music.

An informative and accessible guide to composers' lives and their music.

Composer of the Week: Cesar Franck (1822-1890)

Composer of the Week: Cesar Franck (1822-1890): Episode 5: The Final Years of Pere Franck

Cesar Franck (1822-1890)

Episode 5

Episode 5: The Final Years of Pere Franck

The Final Years of Pere Franck

BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Cesar Franck (1822-1890), The Final Years of Pere Franck

Donald Macleod on how Franck received belated recognition for his services to music.

Donald Macleod on how Franck received belated recognition from the French state for his services to music, before his premature death from an accident involving a horse-drawn bus.

Donald Macleod completes this week's look at the life and works of the Belgian composer, César Franck. In France, Franck was made a knight of the Legion of Honour for his services to the Paris Conservatoire, but it was in Belgium that he enjoyed some of his few successes. One of these was the premiere of his violin sonata, composed as a wedding present for his compatriot Ysaye, and first performed at the wedding breakfast! Further strain on his own marriage came with the composition of his erotically-charged symphonic poem, Psyché; Mme Franck 'mislayed' her tickets to the first performance. Franck was eventually struck down in the prime of life through the most banal of accidents, involving a horse-drawn bus, and he ended his days completing a final testament to his profound religious faith - his Three Chorales for organ.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Belgian composer Cesar Franck

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Composer of the Week

Cesar Franck (1822-1890)

Episode 5: The Final Years of Pere Franck

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