# Falling in love...my new crush: Saint-Saens Violin Concertos!!



## cybernaut (Feb 6, 2021)

I had never heard much Saint-Saens before. I think just the Carnival of Animals, a cello concerto and some organ pieces maybe.

Today I started listening to his first violin concerto and I am ENTHRALLED!!! This is a composer who speaks immediately to me. Passionate, vibrant and beautiful music.

I listened to the first movement of the third violin concerto and it too sounds amazing. I am looking forward to many, many hours of exploring these violin pieces.


----------



## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Saint-Saens is one of those composers who has kind of fallen from grace. Except for a few works you know, most of his large output is unknown to a lot of people. Too bad, because he was a consummate professional: nothing he wrote is in bad taste or poorly written. Maybe that's the problem; like Mendelssohn his music rarely ruffles the feathers. His chamber music is so beautiful.

If you like the violin concertos, make sure to get:

Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso for violin and orchestra
1The cello concertos (no. 2 is a popular one)
The piano concertos (2 and 5 are terrific)
Then there are some orchestral things like Suite Algerienne and La Princesse jaune and Danse Macabre that are must haves.
Operas: Samson and Delilah is brilliant.

Someday, some ambitious company is going to make one of those big boxes with his complete works. I'll be first in line!


----------



## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

mbhaub said:


> ...
> 
> Someday, some ambitious company is going to make one of those big boxes with his complete works. I'll be first in line!


If you're wondering who that is right behind you in line, it's me.

I've been a fan of Saint-Saens music since I first heard the "Organ" Symphony, the Violin Concertos, and the "Egyptian" Piano Concerto (which I first heard on a vinyl disc with Richter performing -- an unforgettable performance!). I was quite young, and have since had opportunity to hear much by the French master. The only piece that I really don't care for (and I can't exactly explain why, because there is much to admire in the piece) is the _Carnival of Animals_. And I generally like animals!

I can say that I've enjoyed nearly everything I've heard from this composer (chamber music, choral music, opera, orchestral works and concerti), though I've grown to recognize its limitations in terms of the composer's place in musical history. And from what I've read of Saint-Saens' reactions to the music of some of his more adventurous/modern contemporaries, the man was a poor judge of the future of music. Yet, at an early age, when I lacked any modicum of musical sophistication, I came to the conclusion that if I became a composer I would want to write music like Saint-Saens' music. (Which may explain why I did not become a composer, which is probably a good thing given that proclamation.)

Still, the music remains pleasing and enjoyable. And there is much to explore.

Yes. Let's have that big box set. Soon.


----------



## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

Naxos had a tremendous disc of his works for cello and orchestra. His first cello concerto is classic but the second is rarely played-it's actually a 20th century work though totally out of step with 20th century music at the time. The whole disc was wonderful listening as someone who also loves Saint-Saens.


----------



## cybernaut (Feb 6, 2021)

mbhaub said:


> Someday, some ambitious company is going to make one of those big boxes with his complete works. I'll be first in line!


I'll just be listening to it on Spotify.


----------



## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

The Utah Symphony has done a marvelous 3-CD cycle of Saint-Saens music including the 5 Symphonies (three numbered and two unnumbered).

https://www.amazon.com/Saint-Saëns-...&keywords=Utah+Symphony&qid=1621290009&sr=8-4

https://www.amazon.com/Saint-Saëns-...&keywords=Utah+Symphony&qid=1621290009&sr=8-5

https://www.amazon.com/Saint-Saëns-...&keywords=Utah+Symphony&qid=1621290009&sr=8-3


----------



## GraemeG (Jun 30, 2009)

In Slonimsky's _Invective_ there's this from J F Runciman in London, 1896.
"It is one's duty to hate with all possible fervour the empty and ugly in art; and I hate Saint-Saens the composer with a hate that is perfect."
I suppose I know what he's getting at, but it's still a bit mean!


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Olias said:


> The Utah Symphony has done a marvelous 3-CD cycle of Saint-Saens music including the 5 Symphonies (three numbered and two unnumbered).
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Saint-Saëns-...&keywords=Utah+Symphony&qid=1621290009&sr=8-4
> 
> ...


That is great info. So then there are three Saint-Saens symphony cycles.

I have the Martinon cycle. Then I discovered the Naxos set, conducted by Soustrot, which I have not purchased yet, and had only been available as three separate disks, but they just released in a set and it is on special discount at Presto right now!
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8915451--saint-saens-complete-symphonies









Have not listened to much else, but for Carnival of the Animals, which has an interesting story behind it, and the operas Samson and Delilah, and Henry VIII.


----------



## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Carnival is brilliant - a genuinely original masterwork. The movement "Aquariums" is so beautiful. Etherial, hypnotic and superbly scored - there's a part for Glass Harmonica. I've played this work twice and the last time we actually found someone in Prescott who owns and plays a custom built glass harmonica. What a sound!


----------



## jkl (May 4, 2021)

It has been a while since I last listened to these concertos, so I must revisit!


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Is falling in love with Saint-Saens Violin Concertos comparable to falling in love with a spouse, for you?


----------



## Bruckner Anton (Mar 10, 2016)

His 5 piano concertos are all worth listening. For me, #3 and #4 are underrated.


----------



## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Saint-Saëns' violin concerto no.3 second movement is the best part,


----------



## Anankasmo (Jun 23, 2017)

SONNET CLV said:


> If you're wondering who that is right behind you in line, it's me.


I'm third in line. But what i really need is an actual complete recording of all his works. Like Psalm 150, La feu celeste, Dejanire, Lola and so many more works which have never been recorded.


----------



## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

The Third Violin Concerto is with the "Organ" symphony my favorite works of his. Any great violinist can pull off the concerto and most conductors the symphony though some make it sound more Germanic then French. I like Ansermet best but I've heard others I enjoyed from Paray, Barenboim and Ormandy so I'm sure many do it well. I only ever heard one disaster and don't remember who led it. The organ sounded more like a nuclear explosion than an instrument when it came in.


----------



## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

hammeredklavier said:


> Is falling in love with Saint-Saens Violin Concertos comparable to falling in love with a spouse, for you?


Let's hope not. If a spouse doesn't trump a piece of music, it's time for a divorce.


----------



## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

ArtMusic said:


> Saint-Saëns' violin concerto no.3 second movement is the best part,


A wonderful movement, first heard by me when quite young. Haven't heard it for some time and was transported back to earlier years.


----------



## vtpoet (Jan 17, 2019)

That's really a beautiful concerto. It's beautiful the same way Max Bruch's violin concerti, a near exact contemporary, are beautiful. They had their era down the same way less-listened-to classical composers beautifully typified their era without moving it forward. I'm thinking of Johann Stamitz, for example, or Zelenka of the baroque. Incredibly talented musicians and composers.


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Bruckner Anton said:


> His 5 piano concertos are all worth listening. For me, #3 and #4 are underrated.


The best he made, someone just started a topic about his first being underrated.


----------



## RMinNJ (Apr 3, 2021)

I recently discovered his Septet, Op 65 in E-flat major -- its wonderful!


----------



## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

The Violin Concerto no 3 is has such a sublime slow movement. Love it so much. 
Saw it performed live a few years at proms by
Joshua Bell
asmf


----------



## John Zito (Sep 11, 2021)

Back in high school I had a Philips/Decca Duo of major works by Saint-Saëns, and it included this recording of Henryk Szeryng playing the third violin concerto:






Still a big favorite. I never really understood why it's not played as often as Bruch, Mendelssohn, etc.


----------



## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Now available, released in mid-October:









Warnerclassics.com website provides this blurb:

Over a remarkably long and illustrious career, Camille Saint-Saëns thrilled audiences around the world as a pianist and organist, shaped the course of musical life in France, and enriched a multitude of genres with some 600 works, all bearing witness to the mastery of his craft. Setting his best-known compositions in their dazzlingly diverse context, this edition invites exploration and discovery. It spans more than a century of recording history, encompassing a host of great instrumentalists, singers, conductors and orchestras, many of them from France. Setting the pace, in performances from as early as 1904, is the composer himself.

Release Date: 10/22/2021
Label: Warner Classics
Catalog Number: 674604

34 discs for under $100.

You can get a complete track listing from the ArkivMusic website:


----------



## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

My favorite St. Saens 3 though there was a Campoli collection with it released in the last few years ...









Just getting to know St. Saens? Here's an outstanding collection of violin pieces and tone pictures ...


----------



## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

GraemeG said:


> In Slonimsky's _Invective_ there's this from J F Runciman in London, 1896.
> "It is one's duty to hate with all possible fervour the empty and ugly in art; and I hate Saint-Saens the composer with a hate that is perfect."
> I suppose I know what he's getting at, but it's still a bit mean!


Another in a long line of 19th and early 20th century composers that the critics were totally and utterly wrong about.


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Wonderful recording and playing as well .


----------



## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

The string quartets ate terrific too.


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

^^^^^^^^^^ Agree however the piano concertos ( the new Kantorow recordings) are also out of the world.


----------



## Johnnie Burgess (Aug 30, 2015)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++


----------



## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

cybernaut said:


> I had never heard much Saint-Saens before. I think just the Carnival of Animals, a cello concerto and some organ pieces maybe.
> 
> Today I started listening to his first violin concerto and I am ENTHRALLED!!! This is a composer who speaks immediately to me. Passionate, vibrant and beautiful music.
> 
> I listened to the first movement of the third violin concerto and it too sounds amazing. I am looking forward to many, many hours of exploring these violin pieces.


Don't miss the Havanaise for violin and orchestra. For whatever reason it tends not to get mentioned in discussions such as this, but for me it's surpassingly lovely music.


----------



## PeterKC (Dec 30, 2016)

Another good starting point


----------



## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

Saint-Saëns wrote some exquisite music all across the board: symphonies, concerti, orchestral suites, chamber music, solo piano music, operas...I mean the guy could do it all. What I love about his particular style is how it's like this Classical Era-informed fantastical Late-Romanticism. You would think these two musical styles would cancel each other out, but they don't. He just makes it work. I have to be careful with this composer, because he's one of those 'potato chip' composers where I just want to listen to one work after another. I'm always afraid to do this because I don't ever want to reach a burnout point with any composer that I love.

If someone is just getting into or is interested in exploring his music, I would start with the works that everyone knows: _Symphony No. 3, "Organ Symphony"_, _Le Carnaval des animaux_ and the _Danse macabre_. But I have to tell you, there is SO MUCH more to this composer than these works (as great as they are). But, as I said, they're certainly starting points.


----------



## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

Can anyone recommend a good performance of Le carnival des animaux? His 3rd symphony is one of my favourites of all time, love his Danse macabre and dance bacchanele and his 3rd violin concerto!


----------



## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

EvaBaron said:


> Can anyone recommend a good performance of Le carnival des animaux? His 3rd symphony is one of my favourites of all time, love his Danse macabre and dance bacchanele and his 3rd violin concerto!


For me, it's difficult to beat this recording of _Le Carnival des animaux_:










The other works on this disc are exquisite as well, especially the _Fantasie for violin and harp_.


----------

