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Saint-Saëns · Camille Saint-Saëns

Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 in C minor, 'Organ'

The Organ Symphony in which he 'gave everything he could give'

Key
C minor
Composed
1886
Premiere
1886 London
Duration
About 35 min
Movements
2 movements
Instrumentation
Woodwinds 3·2·2·2 (piccolo doubling, + English horn, bass clarinet, contrabassoon) · Brass 4·3·3·1 · Timpani · Percussion (bass drum, cymbals, triangle) · Keyboards (piano for 2 and 4 hands, organ) · Strings

The story behind this piece

He wrote it in early 1886 on commission from the Philharmonic Society of London, and Saint-Saëns conducted the premiere himself at St. James's Hall in London on May 19 of that year. He also wrote 'The Carnival of the Animals' around the same time.

Saint-Saëns meant to dedicate this piece to Liszt, who had guided him. But Liszt died in July of that year, so the published score carries the dedication 'In memory of Franz Liszt.'

It looks like two movements on the surface, but a traditional four-movement structure is hidden inside. It is not an organ concerto; it uses the organ and the piano (sometimes played by two people at once, four hands) as colors of the orchestra. Saint-Saëns said, 'I gave to it everything I was able to give. What I have here accomplished, I will never achieve again,' and he wrote no more symphonies after it.

The finale melody was used in the 1995 film 'Babe,' which made the piece familiar even to people who aren't classical music fans.

What to listen for

  • Second half of Part I (poco adagio): The organ enters for the first time, laying down very soft chords beneath the strings.
  • Start of the Part II finale: The organ makes its entrance with a huge C major chord. It's a moment that makes the whole hall tremble.
  • Finale: A section appears in which two people play a single piano together, four hands. Listen for the sparkling piano in the high register.

Listen · Score

Credits