BaL 7.02.15 - Saint-Saëns: Symphony no. 3

[makropulos]

For me, too - its great good spirits, the melodic invention, the timing - and the sheer glorious racket of the thing never fails to cheer me up.

Absolutely agree! My own favourites are Paray (Mercury), closely followed by Munch (RCA) and Levine (DG).

[VodkaDilc]

Absolutely agree! My own favourites are Paray (Mercury).................

I think that's in the Mercury Living Presence Box No 2, which I bought recently. I look forward to investigating it.

[Roehre]

For those, like me, who imagine S-S composed only one symphony - the 3rd - it would be illuminating to hear from anyone who knows nos. 1 & 2.

S-S composed 5 symphonies, and IMVHO no.3 (1886) is an important one in terms of architecture and instrumentation (motto-themes; coupled 1st+2nd and 3rd+4th mvts; an organ and piano-4-hands as orchestral instruments e.g.) but the other 4 are well worth a performance too. A development from mendelssohnian-beethovenian impressions straight to lisztian ones, composed between 1850 and 1859..
No.2 in a op.55 has real earworm qualities too (own experience )

No.3 also lent a theme to a pop song in the 1970s, btw

[Beef Oven!]

For me, too - its great good spirits, the melodic invention, the timing - and the sheer glorious racket of the thing never fails to cheer me up.

Excellently put, ferneyhoughgeliebte.


I only have 2 recordings. My first was Stephen Gunzenhauser, CSR Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava) on Naxos, which was fine for a few years, but I always knew I was missing something, so I looked into it and from all the discussions in the mags etc, I added the 1959 Charles Munch, Boston Symphony Orchestra on RCA, which I absolutely adore.

I don't think I'll be adding any new recordings to my collection.

[Black Swan]

i only have 1 recording of this work.
Gasto Litaize, organ
Daniel Barenboim
Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Like many, this piece doesn't excite me allot. I too feel it is better live when you get the ambience of the hall etc.

[Roehre]

i only have 1 recording of this work.
Gasto Litaize, organ
Daniel Barenboim
Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Like many, this piece doesn't excite me allot. I too feel it is better live when you get the ambience of the hall etc.

A nice example of a dislocated organ IIRC: the orcehstral parts were recorded in another hall than where the organ is located

[pastoralguy]

The Berliner Philharmoniker/Levine recording with Simon Preston is impressive. It strikes me that the acoustic of the building and the recording quality are especially important in this work.

.

This was one of the first cds I ever bought using my newly acquired cheque book... I still love this recording for its wonderful string playing.

[Barbirollians]

I had the Baudo on an EMI Eminence cassette and rather liked it . My only version now is the Erato Martinon and excellent it is too albeit seldom played . There was a later Eminence recording with Litton that was recorded in Liverpool Cathedral and the reverberation was extraordinary and not in the right way !

It seems that there are two Martinon recordings - one on Erato with Marie Claire Alain and another on EMI with Bernard Gavoty

[Nick Armstrong]

the orchestral parts were recorded in another hall than where the organ is located

Yes - just a bit! IIRC, the band was recorded at Medinah Temple, Chicago, whereas old Gaston was tickling the ivories in Chartres Cathedral (the previous month) !

In the words of Eric Morecambe: you can't see the join!

[visualnickmos]

In the words of Eric Morecambe: you can't see the join!

Job done!

[richardfinegold]

Absolutely agree! My own favourites are Paray (Mercury), closely followed by Munch (RCA) and Levine (DG).

I'll second the Paray, and 3rd and 4th...

[richardfinegold]

A nice example of a dislocated organ IIRC: the orcehstral parts were recorded in another hall than where the organ is located

I think Bernstein made a recording that dubbed the Organ in

[mikealdren]

For those, like me, who imagine S-S composed only one symphony - the 3rd - it would be illuminating to hear from anyone who knows nos. 1 & 2.

I have the Martinon set of the symphonies, they're all worth hearing but, to my mind, not the greatest works (and that includes the 3rd - I agree with Richard)

Mike

[Alain Maréchal]

There are plenty of organists on the Forum who could confirm (or deny) this, but a celebrated organist with whom I am acquainted tells me that he can never understand why it was necessary, other than for marketing purposes, to hire a famous name to play the organ part, since it is undemanding (although he said this before he recorded it himself).
He also suggested that most recordings and indeed performances overlook the idea of its being a symphony wth a part for organ, rather than an organ symphony (athough, once again, he said this before recording it with a spectacular* organ sound). Most performances ignore the dynamics: the opening organ chord in the finale is f, but ff when it enters with "that tune".

* can sound be spectacular? Is there a more appropriate term such as auricular?

I confess that I always approach a performance with an "oh not again" attitude, and always throughly enjoy it. I once saw a orchestral leader beaming with pleasure as his violins played "that tune".

[Roger Judd]

For me, the organ and orchestra must be in the same 'room', however wonderful the organ may be. Paray/Detroit/Dupré is one of two favourites for me.
The other performance I love is by Les Siècles, with François-Xavier Roth. The organist is the conductor's father, Daniel, playing the incomparable Cavaillé-Coll instrument in St Sulpice, Paris. The orchestra uses instruments of the late 19th century, contemporary with both the piece and the organ; the performance was recorded 'live' in concert in 2010.
RJ