# SS 03.05.14 - Saint-Saens #3 "Organ"



## realdealblues

A continuation of the Saturday Symphonies Tradition:

Welcome to another weekend of symphonic listening!

For your listening pleasure this weekend:

*Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921)*

Symphony #3 in C Minor, Op. 78 "Organ Symphony"

1. Adagio - Allegro moderato - Poco adagio
2. Allegro moderato - Presto - Maestoso - Allegro

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Post what recording you are going to listen to giving details of Orchestra / Conductor / Chorus / Soloists etc - Enjoy!


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## realdealblues

I only have 2 or 3 recordings of this work. So, this weekend I'll listen to:

View attachment 40986


Eugene Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra
Soloist: E. Power Biggs


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## Mahlerian

Levine and the Berlin Philharmonic, with Simon Preston on organ.


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## Marschallin Blair

Mahlerian said:


> Levine and the Berlin Philharmonic, with Simon Preston on organ.


I love the way Levine caresses the third movement-- _so_ beautiful. He makes it sound like Tchaikovsky.


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## JCarmel

I first became fully acquainted with the symphony via the recording by Louis Fremaux and the CBSO
This is probably what it looks like in a later cd issue.









He was good, Fremaux....


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## GioCar

Charles Dutoit and the Montréal SO for me.


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## Couac Addict

My faves are the Levine and Dutoit recordings previously mentioned...but I'm going with Dutiot today, for a more subtle approach


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## Vaneyes

*Saint-Saens*: Symphony 3, w. Bastille/Chung (rec.1991). :tiphat:


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## Marschallin Blair

*Saint-Saens Organ Symphonies: Best In Show*

_Première_









_Deuxième_









_Troisième_


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## brotagonist

This symphony was done last summer. It must be a good one 

Instead of playing my CD (Georges Prêtre conducting Wiener Symphoniker, organ Marie-Claire Alain), I will listen to this one on YT:

Organist: Michael Murray
Organ: Cavaillé-Coll
Orchestra: Philadelphia Orchestra
Conductor: Eugene Ormandy
Recorded at St. Francis de Sales Church, Philadelphia, PA, USA, February 6, 1980

If I get really keen, I might try a couple of other ones, too. It's supposed to rain all weekend.


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## Cosmos

The only version I have: Philippe Lefebvre with the National Orchestra of France


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## nightscape

Ormandy/Philadelphia 
Michael Murray on Organ


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## maestro267

Detroit SO/Paul Paray

Marcel Dupré on the organ.


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## Ukko

Wrong. All of those choices wrong. Incorrect. Not right. Wrong.

:scold:

I have informed this forum of the Right Choice, some time back. I will not attempt to enlighten you again, I will leave you to wallow in ignorance of The Path to Right Judgement.

:tiphat:


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## hpowders

The best I've ever heard was with Charles Munch directing the Boston Symphony. Not many conductors better than Munch in French music.


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## AClockworkOrange

This one is so easy for me, Daniel Barenboim's superb recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. It is the only recording I own (though I will pick up the Levine at some point I'm sure) but on this recording Barenboim outdoes himself on what may be my favourite disc to feature him on the podium.

The sound quality is absolutely immense in both Orchestra and Organ.


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## Haydn man

It's James Levine and the BPO for me this week


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## Jeff W

realdealblues said:


> I only have 2 or 3 recordings of this work. So, this weekend I'll listen to:
> 
> View attachment 40986
> 
> 
> Eugene Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra
> Soloist: E. Power Biggs


Seconding this. Wonderful recording!


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## senza sordino

GioCar said:


> Charles Dutoit and the Montréal SO for me.


My copy too. I suspect that here in Canada OSM and Dutoit was marketed thoroughly. I have a lot of OSM and Dutoit recordings. 
View attachment 41054


I really like this symphony, it makes me feel good listening, it's quite an uplifting piece. I had the chance to perform this as part of the orchestra some years ago. We played in a church that had an organ.


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## techniquest

I will have to wait for a day or two, but I will be listening to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic / Tjeknavorian recording on Regis.


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## KenOC

A surprise entry: Hans Fagius, organ; Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra with James DePreist conducting. A fine performance and very well recorded. Part of this cheapy download:

http://www.amazon.com/99-Most-Essen...4500&sr=1-1&keywords=saint-saens+99+essential


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## CyrilWashbrook

Another work that is new to me. Will take a listen to Ormandy/Philadelphia.


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## Mika

Continued my Bernstein tradition


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## maestro267

What a symphony! So innovative in many ways, not least in its orchestration. The organ overshadows the fact that this is probably one of the first instances of the piano being used purely as an orchestral instrument, and what a contribution it makes, not least in the famous Maestoso passage where four hands add glistening crystal-like arpeggios to the main theme.


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## brotagonist

Wow! I liked that so much I went straight to another performance:

Organ: Leo van Doeselaar
Myung-Whun Chung
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, 16 10/2005


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## CyrilWashbrook

What an excellent and exhilarating work. I agree with maestro267 that the piano is very well deployed.


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## KenOC

To really appreciate this symphony, you have to see the movie "Babe."


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## Guest

Mahlerian said:


> Levine and the Berlin Philharmonic, with Simon Preston on organ.


I haven't followed this game/project/thing in a while, but I did happen to coincidentally listen to this recording yesterday. One of my all-time favorite symphonies.


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## techniquest

I came in a bit late with this one, but I have now listened (again) to the Tjeknavorian / Royal Liverpool Philharmonic recording on Regis. Tjeknavorian can be a bit hit & miss (some of his Khachaturian recordings on Chandos were awful), but this one is a real corker!
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic have rarely matched sounding this good until the recent Petrenko Shostakovich recordings on Naxos; such is the lush, big sound they produce. The pacing is just right too, not too hurried in the 1st movement; and the mighty Liverpool Anglican Cathedral organ (played by Noel Rawsthorne) is beautifully restrained in the 2nd movement. The big sustained 'echo' at the pause in the 3rd movement gives a clue as to what's to come...The entry of the organ in final movement is as big and majestic as anyone could wish for. No restraint here, this is meant to be full-on loud, and it is - complete with long sustained echos, it really does sound huge. The entry of the 'Babe' theme is a little faster than the movement intro would suggest, can the organ keep up with this? Apparantly it can. After the 'John Williams' chord change, the music builds up with the bass drum hits wanting to match the grandiose sound of the organ and, at the very end, that sustained echo takes about 6 seconds to fade away! I'm out of breath...
This disc is coupled (or 'trioed') with the Danse Macabre and the Carnival of the Animals, both with the Mexico City Philharmonic under Enrique Batiz, both perfectly acceptable recordings. For around a fiver, how can you possibly go wrong with this disc?


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## PetrB

hpowders said:


> The best I've ever heard was with Charles Munch directing the Boston Symphony. Not many conductors better than Munch in French music.


Strongly seconding this recommend!

Munch and the Boston Symphony is a magnificent recording from 1959, a glimmer of what is there can be auditioned via Youtube:
3rd & 4th Movements ---


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## hpowders

Too bad so many of the youngsters never even heard of Charles Munch. At least most of what he left us has been preserved in good sound. His BSO/ Symphonie Fantastique is no slouch either.

Thank you, PetrB.


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## PetrB

hpowders said:


> Too bad so many of the youngsters never even heard of Charles Munch. At least most of what he left us has been preserved in good sound. His BSO/ Symphonie Fantastique is no slouch either.
> 
> Thank you, PetrB.


A number of those recordings are still around in re-issue, and a sort of bonus because they are now 'budget priced.'
Munch, BSO, is my 'archival' go-to recording of Daphnis et Chloe, for instance... still one of the finest and most nuanced performances of that piece on record.


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## techniquest

> Tjeknavorian can be a bit hit & miss (some of his Khachaturian recordings on Chandos were awful), but this one is a real corker!


Sorry that should read ASV not Chandos.


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## Varick

hpowders said:


> The best I've ever heard was with Charles Munch directing the Boston Symphony. Not many conductors better than Munch in French music.





PetrB said:


> Strongly seconding this recommend!
> 
> Munch and the Boston Symphony is a magnificent recording from 1959, a glimmer of what is there can be auditioned via Youtube:
> 3rd & 4th Movements ---


Strongly "Third-ing" this recommendation! It is an absolutely fantastic performance!

V


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