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Saint-Saëns: Three Symphonies / Kantorow, Royal Liège Philharmonic
BIS

Saint-Saëns: Three Symphonies / Kantorow, Royal Liège Philharmonic

$21.99

Details

Composer
SAINT-SAENS, CAMILLE
Artist
Kantorow
Format
SACD
Label
BIS
Released
May 21, 2021
Catalog #
BIS-2460
UPC
7318599924601

About

Prodigiously gifted, Camille Saint-Saëns entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1848, at the age of 13. There he discovered the symphonies of the great German and Austrian composers and soon began to try his own hand at the genre. The Symphony in A major stems from this period and although it was most likely never performed in his lifetime it demonstrates his exceptional talent to the full. Only a couple of years later, in 1853, Saint-Saëns submitted his second attempt at writing a symphony to one of the capital’s concert societies. Praised by Berlioz and Gounod, the Symphony No.?1 in E flat major was accepted for performance and published shortly afterwards as the composer’s opus 2. Classical in form, it is an example of Saint-Saëns’ typical clarity, with the lyricism that would later become a hallmark of his music coming to the fore in the two central movements. By the late 1850s, despite his youth, Saint-Saëns was already well-established: in addition to his activity as a virtuoso pianist, he had been named organist of La Madeleine in Paris. He composed his Symphony No. 2 in A minor quickly: from July to September 1859. The orchestration is transparent, and the first movement unusually features a fugue for three voices. Concise and constantly inventive, the work moves away from the Viennese models Saint-Saëns admired so much, with a finale reminiscent of the tarantella in Mendelssohn’s ‘Italian’ Symphony. The present album is the first of two dedicated to the symphonies of Saint-Saëns and recorded by the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège and Jean-Jacques Kantorow to commemorate the centenary of the composer’s death.

Tracklist 12 tracks

  1. 1 I. Poco adagio 06:50
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Poco adagio
    Duration
    06:50
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Ensemble
    Orchestre philharmonique royal de Liège
    Conductor
    Jean-Jacques Kantorow
  2. 2 II. Larghetto 07:55
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Larghetto
    Duration
    07:55
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Ensemble
    Orchestre philharmonique royal de Liège
    Conductor
    Jean-Jacques Kantorow
  3. 3 III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace 03:24
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace
    Duration
    03:24
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Ensemble
    Orchestre philharmonique royal de Liège
    Conductor
    Jean-Jacques Kantorow
  4. 4 IV. Allegro molto 05:18
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Allegro molto
    Duration
    05:18
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Ensemble
    Orchestre philharmonique royal de Liège
    Conductor
    Jean-Jacques Kantorow
  5. 5 I. Adagio - Allegro 08:38
    Track
    5
    Title
    I. Adagio - Allegro
    Duration
    08:38
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Ensemble
    Orchestre philharmonique royal de Liège
    Conductor
    Jean-Jacques Kantorow
  6. 6 II. Marche - Scherzo: Allegretto scherzando 04:16
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Marche - Scherzo: Allegretto scherzando
    Duration
    04:16
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Ensemble
    Orchestre philharmonique royal de Liège
    Conductor
    Jean-Jacques Kantorow
  7. 7 III. Adagio 09:50
    Track
    7
    Title
    III. Adagio
    Duration
    09:50
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Ensemble
    Orchestre philharmonique royal de Liège
    Conductor
    Jean-Jacques Kantorow
  8. 8 IV. Finale: Allegro maestoso 07:07
    Track
    8
    Title
    IV. Finale: Allegro maestoso
    Duration
    07:07
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Ensemble
    Orchestre philharmonique royal de Liège
    Conductor
    Jean-Jacques Kantorow
  9. 9 I. Allegro marcato - Allegro appassionato 06:39
    Track
    9
    Title
    I. Allegro marcato - Allegro appassionato
    Duration
    06:39
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Ensemble
    Orchestre philharmonique royal de Liège
    Conductor
    Jean-Jacques Kantorow
  10. 10 II. Adagio 03:31
    Track
    10
    Title
    II. Adagio
    Duration
    03:31
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Ensemble
    Orchestre philharmonique royal de Liège
    Conductor
    Jean-Jacques Kantorow
  11. 11 III. Scherzo: Presto - Un poco meno mosso 03:53
    Track
    11
    Title
    III. Scherzo: Presto - Un poco meno mosso
    Duration
    03:53
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Ensemble
    Orchestre philharmonique royal de Liège
    Conductor
    Jean-Jacques Kantorow
  12. 12 IV. Prestissimo - Andantino - Tempo primo 06:37
    Track
    12
    Title
    IV. Prestissimo - Andantino - Tempo primo
    Duration
    06:37
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Ensemble
    Orchestre philharmonique royal de Liège
    Conductor
    Jean-Jacques Kantorow