Franz, Robert

Franz, Robert (rō`bĕrt fränts), 1815–92, German composer of about 350 lieder, intimate songs, usually in strophic form. The first of them (pub. 1843) drew warm praise from Schumann. Franz championed a revival of the music of Bach and Handel.

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Franz, Robert

 orig. Robert Franz Knauth

(born June 28, 1815, Halle, Saxony—died Oct. 24, 1892, Halle, Ger.) German song composer. In 1842 he became director of the Singakademie of his native Halle and organized choral festivals there. He sent Robert Schumann a set of songs, which Schumann had published in 1843 without consulting Franz. Franz Liszt became another influential supporter and published his own book about Franz in 1872. By 1867 Franz had become almost completely deaf and was obliged to relinquish his posts, including his professorship at the University of Halle. He was mentally unstable in his later years, when honours were increasingly heaped upon him. His more than 300 songs are remarkable for their sensitive musical prosody; he is a significant figure in the history of the lied.