Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 'Organ Symphony'

Camille Saint-Saëns’s Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78, better known as the "Organ Symphony," is one of the most significant pieces of the composer's career. Completed in 1886 for the Royal Philharmonic Society in London, it marked the composer's return to the symphonic form after years focused on other genres. In this video, the symphony is performed by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marek Janowski. The organ is played by Iveta Apkalna. The concert took place on January 22, 2013, at the Berliner Philharmonie to mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Élysée Treaty between France and Germany. (00:00) I. Adagio – Allegro moderato – Poco adagio (19:08) II. Allegro moderato – Presto – Maestoso – Allegro In 1857 Camille Saint-Saëns was hired as the main organist at Paris's most fashionable church, Église de la Madeleine. While the who's who of French high society met there each Sunday to worship, the composer was less interested in social status than he was in the church's magnificent organ built in 1845 by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. Indeed, the composer is said to have called to the two decades he spent at the organ's keys as the greatest years of his life. Europe's classical music elite, meanwhile, were equally impressed. The likes of German pianist and composer Clara Schumann and Spanish violinist Pablo de Sarasate came to listen to his dazzling improvisations, while Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt called him "the greatest organist in the world." Yet, despite his popularity as an organist, Saint-Saëns rarely composed for the instrument. One of the exceptions is the Symphony No. 3 in C minor, the so-called "Organ Symphony." Yet even this nickname can be a bit misleading if one expects to hear the organ consistently front and center. The pipe organ enters in the latter halves of the two large sections. Yet when it does, its sound instantly reshapes the piece's sonic landscape. It's used as a foundation for the orchestra’s climactic moments, adding a weight and depth that emphasizes the final passages of the piece. This approach reflects both his mastery of orchestral color and his connection to tradition, even as he pushes the symphony forward. With this piece, considered one of the most enduring works of the French repertoire, Camille Saint-Saëns also reshapes the traditional symphonic structure. Instead of the usual four separate movements, he created two large blocks of music where themes evolve and reappear, giving the piece a sense of unity. This unified structure echoes that of Franz Liszt's oft-analyzed Piano Sonata in B minor, which comprises a single movement that covertly holds within it four distinct movements (allegro, adagio, scherzo and finale). Saint-Saëns also employs Liszt's concept of thematic transformation, whereby different themes, aka "leitmotifs," are transformed through inversion, modulation, fragmentation and other means — and then reappear throughout the piece. Perhaps it comes as little surprise that Saint-Saëns dedicated his organ symphony to Liszt. Based in the German capital, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra ("Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin") is the country's second-oldest radio symphony orchestra and was founded in 1923.