Franck String Sextet No. 2 in D major Op. 50

Set of parts edited by Nick Pfefferkorn

Eduard Franck finished the fair copy of his second string sextet score in December 1884. The piece can thus be described as a typical late work, also evident from its wistful retrospective mood.

The sextet’s D-major first movement has a concise main theme moving to an expressive secondary theme whereas its final movement is a polyphonic masterpiece: This full, yet transparent movement integrates all the characteristics of the preceding movements in a rhythmically elastic, richly melodic broader context that in the end attains serenity and reconciliation.