Memorial Medallion for César Franck

C�sar Franck (1822-1890) was a Belgian-French composer and organist. He studied at the conservatories of Liege and Paris, taking prizes in piano, composition, and organ. In 1858 he became organist of Sainte-Clotilde, Paris, where he demonstrated great skill in the art of improvisation. From 1872 until his death, he was professor of organ at the Paris Conservatory, where he exercised a strong influence on an entire generation of composers. His music is highly distinctive, rooted in the polyphonic and chromatic techniques of Bach.

While Rodin was not a musician himself, he liked to listen to music and maintained friendship with several musicians. His favourite composer was Beethoven, whose work he would stay close to all his life.

When C�sar Franck died in 1890, it was Rodin who was commissioned to sculpt a medallion to be placed on the musician’s tomb. Following the completion of the medallion, plans were discussed for a statue of the composer to be placed in the basilica of Sainte-Clothilde, where Franck had long been the organist, but nothing became of them.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 5 minutes):

C�sar Franck: Panis angelicus