Saint-Saens By Tbe Bay
Erik North | San Gabriel, CA USA | 05/23/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"After Berlioz's graphically violent, nightmarish masterpiece "Symphonie Fantastique" the "Organ Symphony", the Symphony No. 3, of Camille Saint-Saens, composed in 1886, is likely the most popular and recognized symphony to ever come out of France (Bizet's Symphony In C, though composed in 1855, wouldn't surface until 1931). This is not just because Saint-Saens uses the full array of the orchestra itself, but also because he makes the organ a big part of his work, hence the symphony's nickname. The organ is used as an underpinning in the work's second movement, and is really up close and personal in the work's gigantic finale, which anticipates many of the large late Romatic and 20th Century works to come.
For decades, of course, the Organ Symphony has been a part of the repertoire as a showcase for orchestras all over the world, both in concert and on recordings. Two of the best-known are Charles Munch's celebrated 1959 Boston Symphony recording (with Berj Zamkochian at the organ), and Paul Paray's equally splendid 1957 recording with his Detroit Symphony Orchestra (featuring Marcel Dupre). Add to that distinguished list this recording made in April 1984 by Edo De Waart and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, with Jean Guillou at the organ. This recording is not as well known to the public as Munch's and Paray's readings are, but it is as artistically valid as them; and it is balanced with the Allegro movement of Charles Marie Widor's Symphony No. 6 In G Minor for solo organ, a work in the tradition of J.S. Bach's beloved "Toccata & Fugue In D Minor", which may have also influenced Saint-Saens' symphony as well. It is a stellar recording, well worth getting."
