Conductor: Charles Munch , Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra
Organ: Berj Zamkochian .
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Symphony No. 3 (Saint-Saëns)
The Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78, was completed by Camille Saint-Saëns in 1886 at what was probably the artistic zenith of his career. It is also popularly known as the "Organ Symphony", even though it is not a true symphony for organ, but simply an orchestral symphony where two sections out of four use the pipe organ. The French title of the work is more accurate: Symphonie No. 3 "avec orgue" (with organ).
Of composing the work Saint-Saëns said "I gave everything to it I was able to give. What I have here accomplished, I will never achieve again." The composer seemed to know it would be his last attempt at the symphonic form, and he wrote the work almost as a type of "history" of his own career: virtuoso piano passages, brilliant orchestral writing characteristic of the Romantic period, and the sound of a cathedral-sized pipe organ.
The symphony was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society in England, and the first performance was given in London on 19 May 1886, at St James's Hall, conducted by the composer. After the death of his friend Franz Liszt on 31 July 1886, Saint-Saëns dedicated the work to Liszt's memory. The composer also conducted the French premiere in January 1887.
Structure
The symphony usually lasts for about 35 minutes, not longer than 40 minutes.
One of the most outstanding and original features of the piece is the ingenious use of keyboard instruments: piano scored for both two and four hands at various places and an organ. The symphony also makes innovative use of cyclic thematic material. Saint-Saëns adapted Liszt's methods of thematic transfiguration, so that the subjects evolve throughout the duration of the symphony.
Though it is frequently listed, even on record and CD covers, as a symphony for orchestra "and organ", the composer inscribed it as a symphony for orchestra "avec" ("with") organ, which is a more accurate way of describing it.
Although this symphony seems to follow the normal four-movement structure, and many recordings break it in this way, it was actually written in two movements: Saint-Saëns intended a novel two-movement symphony. The composer did note in his own analysis of the symphony, however, that while it was cast in two movements, "the traditional four movement structure is maintained".
Modern interpretations
The main theme of the Maestoso was later adapted and used in the 1977 pop-song If I Had Words by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley. The Maestoso movement is also included in the soundtrack of the film Impressions de France, which plays in the France pavilion at Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort. The song and the symphony were used as the main theme in the 1995 family film Babe and it's 1998 sequel Babe: Pig in the City and can be heard in the 1989 black comedy, How to Get Ahead in Advertising. The piece is also featured in the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps 2008 show "Le Tour: Every Second Counts" in the finale. The tune of the symphony also serves as the national anthem of the micronation of the Empire of Atlantium under the name "Auroran Hymn". Although not included in the soundtrack, the Maestoso movement can be heard along with Dvorak's 9th Symphony in Emir Kusturica's film "Underground"
The composer Philip Sparke created a brass band test piece based on the symphony which was then assigned to Fourth Section bands for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain in 2010.
Performances and recordings
The French premiere was on 9 January 1887, conducted by the composer, at concert of the Société des Concerts.
The United States premiere was given on 19 February 1887, conducted by Theodore Thomas, at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York.
The symphony continues to be a frequently performed and recorded part of the standard repertoire.
The Philadelphia Orchestra with Eugene Ormandy conducting. The performance with organist Virgil Fox received these reviews:
- This beautifully played performance outclasses all versions of this symphony. - Fanfare Magazine
- This is the most hair-raising sound of any recording of this work. - The New Records.
The 1957 recording by Paul Paray and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra with Marcel Dupré as organist is also highly regarded (Mercury Records), as is the 1959 recording with Charles Münch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with Berj Zamkochian at the organ (RCA).
Simon Preston made a recording in 1987 with James Levine conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon.
The symphony was performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the 2009 BBC Proms season as the finale to a concert celebrating the 800th anniversary of the University of Cambridge, as the composer was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university in 1893.
Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra recorded the Symphony #3 again in 1980 for the Telarc Digital label with Michael Murray as organist. The recording was a landmark in the early history of digital recording.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Symphony No. 3 (Saint-Saëns)
