Franck was born in
Breslau, the capital of the
Prussian province of
Silesia. He was the fourth child of a wealthy banker who exposed his children to Germany's cultural figures. Frequenters of the Franck home included
Heine, Humboldt, Heller,
Mendelssohn, and
Wagner. His family's financial position allowed Franck to study with
Felix Mendelssohn as a private student in
Düsseldorf and later in
Leipzig. As a talented pianist, he embarked upon a dual career as a concert artist and teacher for more than four decades during the course of which he held many positions. Although he was highly regarded as both a teacher and performer, he never achieved the public recognition of his better-known contemporaries such as Mendelssohn,
Schumann or
Liszt. Despite being compared favourably to them, the fact that he failed to publish very many of his compositions until toward the end of his life, in part, explains why he was not better known. Said to be a perfectionist, he continually delayed releasing his works until they were polished to his demanding standards. Schumann, among others, thought quite highly of the few works he did publish during the first part of his life. He was the father of
Richard Franck. ==Music==