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program notes
he astonished a sophisticated Parisian audience at his official debut by playing brilliantly a taxing piano program and then , as an encore , offering any of Beethoven ’ s 32 piano sonatas from memory ! (“ Whatever music will he be playing when he ’ s 20 ?” onlookers asked his doting mother . “ He will be playing his own ,” she replied .) He soon became as remarkable an organist as he was a pianist , and for 19 years officiated at the console of Paris ’ most fashionable church , La Madeleine .
First-time listeners to this symphony nicknamed “ Organ ” ( though not by the composer ) tend to wait impatiently for the mighty instrument to make its appearance . But great organist that he was , Saint-Saëns chose to conduct rather than to play at the symphony ’ s premiere in London on May 19 , 1886 . In this work , he was thinking of the organ not as a soloist but as a new orchestral color . In fact , the organ ’ s first entrance — about ten minutes into the piece at the beginning of the Adagio section — is so subtle it can easily be missed . Its pianissimo chords give a burnished glow to the strings ’ gentle melody .
For this is a true symphony , disguising a traditional four-movement plan within an interlinking two-part division . Dedicated to the memory of Franz Liszt , Saint-Saëns ’ close friend who had recently died , the work is built from Liszt ’ s practice of “ thematic transformation ,” in which a core theme recurs throughout a work , undergoing metamorphosis from one appearance to the next . We hear Saint-Saëns ’ core theme or motto — a rushing idea for strings ( the composer in his note called it “ somber and agitated ”) — immediately following a brief slow introduction . Many , but by no means all , of the symphony ’ s themes are created from this motto . One that is completely independent is the rocking , slightly sentimental melody , introduced a little later by violins , that brings romantic tranquility to this otherwise nervous music .
Dedicated to the memory of Franz Liszt , Saint-Saëns ’ close friend who had recently died , the work is built from Liszt ’ s practice of “ thematic transformation .”
Opened softly by organ and strings , the slow movement in D-flat Major flows after a slight pause from the first section . Here is some of Saint-Saëns ’ loveliest writing : an “ extremely peaceful , contemplative theme ” ( all phrases in quotes are the composer ’ s own ) scored with great refinement . Pizzicato basses and cellos mysteriously offer the motto in a new guise for a harmonically unsettled middle section . The movement ends in a “ mystical coda ” of falling phrases over chords slowly alternating between D-flat Major and E Minor .
The symphony ’ s second part combines a scherzo movement and the finale . The scherzo opens in C Minor with a rhythmically energetic theme for low strings ; the high woodwinds answer this with a choppy new transformation of the motto . This music is succeeded by a “ fantastic ” trio section in a much faster tempo and brighter C Major — full of “ tricky gaiety ” in its rhythmic cross-play , its scintillating high-register wind parts and its unusual piano part . Both the scherzo and trio music return , but during the repeat of the trio music , we hear a “ grave and austere ” slow theme emerging in the low brass . “ There is a struggle for mastery , which ends in the defeat of the restless diabolical element ,” comments the composer .
Now all is ready for the grand finale . Suddenly , the organ commands our attention with a fortissimo C-Major chord summoning the rest of the orchestra to action . In an imaginative stroke of orchestration , Saint-Saëns presents a captivating melody ( derived from the motto ) in soft strings accompanied by sparkling piano , played by four hands . ( Fans of the 1995 film Babe will recognize this as the porcine hero ’ s theme music .) Organ and full orchestra repeat the melody triumphantly . Intricate fugal developments of this theme follow . Finally , Saint-Saëns delivers the most splendid of conclusions : fast , thrilling and with organ swelling the impact .
Dave Hoffmann
The BSO
Instrumentation : Three flutes including piccolo , two oboes , English horn , two clarinets , bass clarinet , two bassoons , contrabassoon , four horns , three trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion , organ , piano ( 4-hands ), strings .
Notes by Janet E . Bedell , Copyright © 2017
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