3rd Symphony (Saint-Saëns)

The 3rd Symphony in C minor , op. 78 , also known as the Organ Symphony , is a work for orchestra and organ by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns .

Instrumentation and sentence names

instrumentation

3 flutes (3rd flute also called piccolo)

2 oboes

English horn

2 clarinets

Bass clarinet

2 bassoons

Contrabassoon

4 horns

3 trumpets

3 trumpets

tuba

Timpani

Big drum

pool

triangle

Piano (four hands)

organ

Strings

Sentence names

1. Movement: Adagio - Allegro moderato, Poco adagio
2. Movement: Allegro moderato - Presto, Maestoso - Allegro

General

The symphony was composed in 1885 and 1886 and dedicated to the composer Franz Liszt , whom Saint-Saëns knew personally. Saint-Saëns wrote the symphony 27 years after its predecessor, the 2nd symphony . It is the last of his five symphonies. The premiere took place in London in 1886 under Saint-Saëns' direction. The work consists of two movements, although the composer wrote about it, although “... it is divided into two movements, it basically retains the traditional four movements, the first movement, which breaks off in the development, serves as an introduction to the Adagio and in the same way the scherzo is linked to the finale . ”A performance of the symphony usually lasts between 35 and 40 minutes. He himself wrote about the symphony: "Here I gave everything I could give ... I will never write something like this work again."

The byname of the work is organ symphony , although the organ does not play a major role in it and only begins to play in the course of the piece. This is more aptly expressed in the French language: Symphony No. 3 “avec orgue” (with organ). It is one of the most famous, most performed and most outstanding compositions of Saint-Saëns.

literature

• Michael Stegemann: Camille Saint-Saëns: Organ Symphony. Supplement to James Levine (conductor): Saint-Saëns: Orgel-Symphonie , Deutsche Grammophon , Hamburg 1987
• Philippe Mougeot: Saint Saëns: The five symphonies. Supplement to Jean Martinon (conductor): Saint-Saëns: Les 5 Symphonies , EMI , 2003

Web links

• Freely accessible score of the symphony
• Sheet music and scores in the International Music Score Library Project
• Camille Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3 - "Organ Symphony" - op. 78 in the show Diskothek im Zwei des DRS 2
• Late Romanticism on old instruments , NZZ article
• Camille Saint-Saëns: «Organ Symphony» . Spanish Radio and Television Symphonic Orchestra. Jun Märkl, conductor.

credentials

1. ↑ Quotation from: Michael Stegemann: Camille Saint-Saëns: Orgel Symphonie.
2. ↑ Quoted from: Michael Stegemann : Camille Saint-Saëns with self-testimonies and photo documents. Rowohlt, 1988.
3. ^ Norman Lloyd: Large Lexicon of Music. 2nd Edition. Bertelsmann Lexikon-Verlag, 1978.