Purchases Today

[71 dB]

A few days ago I heard Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3 on radio and I was reminded of how great it is. Anyway, I thought it would be nice to start the year with Saint-Saëns' music for Violin and Piano:

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[mc ukrneal]

A few days ago I heard Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3 on radio and I was reminded of how great it is. Anyway, I thought it would be nice to start the year with Saint-Saëns' music for Violin and Piano:

[asin]B00BGB3YDM[/asin]

[asin]B00E3ISIJ0[/asin]

That looks pretty interesting. Slowly, but surely, I keep accumulating more and more Saint Saens. That's another one for the wishlist...

[Brian]

A few days ago I heard Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3 on radio and I was reminded of how great it is. Anyway, I thought it would be nice to start the year with Saint-Saëns' music for Violin and Piano:

These are both wonderful CDs, very beautifully played.

[71 dB]

That looks pretty interesting. Slowly, but surely, I keep accumulating more and more Saint Saens. That's another one for the wishlist...

Saint-Saëns is an underrated master, perhaps the most precocious child prodigy ever (even more precocious than W. A. Mozart!). I believe he was an extremely intelligent person and could write good compositions without even trying. His music is easy to listen to (so is Mozart!), but there is something smart under it all...

These are both wonderful CDs, very beautifully played.

Thanks for the info! I look forward to them. 

[Mirror Image]

Saint-Saëns is an underrated master, perhaps the most precocious child prodigy ever (even more precocious than W. A. Mozart!). I believe he was an extremely intelligent person and could write good compositions without even trying. His music is easy to listen to (so is Mozart!), but there is something smart under it all...
Thanks for the info! I look forward to them. 

Yes, I love Saint-Saens. From the chamber music to Carnival of the Animals to the concerti, I don't think I've heard one note from him I didn't like. Let me know what you think of those Naxos recordings.

[ZauberdrachenNr.7]

Saint-Saëns is an underrated master, perhaps the most precocious child prodigy ever (even more precocious than W. A. Mozart!). I believe he was an extremely intelligent person and could write good compositions without even trying. His music is easy to listen to (so is Mozart!), but there is something smart under it all...
Thanks for the info! I look forward to them. 

Agree! A 'Renaissance man' with broad-ranging interests.  Such a pity his work gets stamped with the label 'old fogey' left in the wake of his iconoclastic successors.   In 2004, the cellist Steven Isserlis said, "Saint-Saens is exactly the sort of composer who needs a festival to himself ... there are Masses, all of which are interesting. I've played all his cello music and there isn't one bad piece. His works are rewarding in every way. And he's an endlessly fascinating figure."

[Mirror Image]

Agree! A 'Renaissance man' with broad-ranging interests.  Such a pity his work gets stamped with the label 'old fogey' left in the wake of his iconoclastic successors.   In 2004, the cellist Steven Isserlis said, "Saint-Saens is exactly the sort of composer who needs a festival to himself ... there are Masses, all of which are interesting. I've played all his cello music and there isn't one bad piece. His works are rewarding in every way. And he's an endlessly fascinating figure."

There really should to be a more comprehensive study on Saint-Saens or perhaps even a reevaluation on his music and life.

[André]

Saint-Saens was anything but an old fogey - unless he decided to compose something along those lines. His piano concertos for example are of their time and yet, much more modern than you would think. I also like his other symphonies (he composed 5, but numbered only 3).

[71 dB]

It was a bit frustrating to collect Saint-Saëns on Naxos 15 years ago. I exhausted their catalogue fast. I kind of lost my interest in the composer. Now Naxos has released lots of Saint-Saëns.

I have The Piano Concertos on a Decca twofer (Pascal Rogé/Charles Dutoit), but Africa Fantasy is not included.

The third Symphony is the only one I have heard. The other symphonies are MUCH LESS popular.

[Mirror Image]

It was a bit frustrating to collect Saint-Saëns on Naxos 15 years ago. I exhausted their catalogue fast. I kind of lost my interest in the composer. Now Naxos has released lots of Saint-Saëns.

I have The Piano Concertos on a Decca twofer (Pascal Rogé/Charles Dutoit), but Africa Fantasy is not included.

The third Symphony is the only one I have heard. The other symphonies are MUCH LESS popular.

If you would look beyond Naxos, you'll find a whole plethora of Saint-Saens waiting for your discovery.

[mc ukrneal]

It was a bit frustrating to collect Saint-Saëns on Naxos 15 years ago. I exhausted their catalogue fast. I kind of lost my interest in the composer. Now Naxos has released lots of Saint-Saëns.

I have The Piano Concertos on a Decca twofer (Pascal Rogé/Charles Dutoit), but Africa Fantasy is not included.

The third Symphony is the only one I have heard. The other symphonies are MUCH LESS popular.

There is a Martinon twofer (or used to be) with all the symphonies. If you like Saint-Saens, it is well worth considering.

[listener]

I'll admit to a fondness for his short tone-poems:  Le Rouet d'Omphale, Phaeton, La Jeunesse d'Hercule.  The Danse macabre is almost always included with them.

[The new erato]

The third Symphony is the only one I have heard. The other symphonies are MUCH LESS popular.

For a reason. I like Saint Saens too, but not all works are great. Some are only good.

[springrite]

Camilla Wicks in Concert: Five Decades of Treasured Performances (BOXSET)

Bach Partitas (Edna Stern)

Brett Dean: Lost Art of Letter Writing (Zimmermann, Sydney Symphony, Nott)

1.    PE 156-PHOENIX/AUSTRIA: "Medtner, Nikolai rarities


2.    5186389-PENTATONE: "Beethoven, Piano Sonatas 30-32.

3.    CDA 67791-HYPERION: "Goetz, Hermann [1840-1876]:
Piano concerto"

4.    CDA 67854-HYPERION: "Schoendorff, Philipp

5.    777307-2-CPO: "Rontgen, Julius [1855-1932]: Symphonies"...
   1

6.    HMU 907406-HARMONIA MUNDI: "Chopin, Piano Sonata #3.
Ravel, "...Chen Sa

7.    1CD 31867-COL LEGNO: "Halffter, Cristobal [b.1930]:

8.    ZZT 070201-ZIG ZAG: "Schumann, Prelude and Fugue, Fantasy in C (Edna Stern)

9.    TAH 488/9-TAHRA: "Beethoven, Symphony #9. (Two
performances, Furtwangler"... (Stockholm...)

10.    8.559006-NAXOS: "Willson, Meredith {1902-1984}: Symphonies

[71 dB]

If you would look beyond Naxos, you'll find a whole plethora of Saint-Saens waiting for your discovery.

I do look beyond Naxos. It's just that hardly ever can you buy Hyperion discs for a few euros. I need to know I love the disc for those prices. Most of the time I consider even Naxos too expensive. Weak euro currency makes things worse. Yes, I am a miser. So is my employer.

Anyway, Naxos has recently released  a lot of Saint-Saëns. 

[The new erato]

I do look beyond Naxos. It's just that hardly ever can you buy Hyperion discs for a few euros. I need to know I love the disc for those prices. Most of the time I consider even Naxos too expensive. Weak euro currency makes things worse. Yes, I am a miser. So is my employer.

Anyway, Naxos has recently released  a lot of Saint-Saëns. 

Amazon.fr has a promotion where ypu can have 2CDs for 12 Euros of 5 for 30. The promotion codes are in the top of the page. The Martinon symphnies set is included in the offer (counts as 1 selection):

http://www.amazon.fr/gp/event/5cddvd30e/ref=pe_237781_93646871_pe_09/?ie=UTF8&gb_f_5cddvd30e=dealTypes%3AEVENT_DEAL%2CsortOrder%3ABY_BEST_SELLING%2Ccategory%3AClassique&ref_=amb_link_188608207_1

[71 dB]

Amazon.fr has a promotion where ypu can have 2CDs for 12 Euros of 5 for 30. The promotion codes are in the top of the page. The Martinon symphnies set is included in the offer (counts as 1 selection):

http://www.amazon.fr/gp/event/5cddvd30e/ref=pe_237781_93646871_pe_09/?ie=UTF8&gb_f_5cddvd30e=dealTypes%3AEVENT_DEAL%2CsortOrder%3ABY_BEST_SELLING%2Ccategory%3AClassique&ref_=amb_link_188608207_1

Thx. I'm waiting for 5 CDs to arrive (Hindemith, Rameau, Vali and 2 x Saint-Saëns). So, I don't think I'll make another Saint-Saëns purchase soon. I should be concentrating on the "contemporary stuff". I had bad luck with the Reza Vali disc and it got lost and never delivered. I had to re-order it. I originally ordered it in November 7! Postal service has gone so crappy it's not fun to buy online anymore. Nowadays it takes a week longer to get CDs from UK and US than it used to. From Germany I get fast. I don't know why. I have started to prefer Germany whenever I can.

Are the "other" symphonies by Saint-Saëns worth hearing? Perhaps the Organ Symphony is all I need? I fear I will be disappointed.

[The new erato]

Thx. I'm waiting for 5 CDs to arrive (Hindemith, Rameau, Vali and 2 x Saint-Saëns). So, I don't think I'll make another Saint-Saëns purchase soon. I should be concentrating on the "contemporary stuff". I had bad luck with the Reza Vali disc and it got lost and never delivered. I had to re-order it. I originally ordered it in November 7! Postal service has gone so crappy it's not fun to buy online anymore. Nowadays it takes a week longer to get CDs from UK and US than it used to. From Germany I get fast. I don't know why. I have started to prefer Germany whenever I can.

Are the "other" symphonies by Saint-Saëns worth hearing? Perhaps the Organ Symphony is all I need? I fear I will be disappointed.

Worth hearing is subjective. For me they are not as good, but worth it? Your mileage varies....

[71 dB]

Worth hearing is subjective. For me they are not as good, but worth it? Your mileage varies....

What I hate about classical music is no matter how much you buy/listen to it, there's much more stuff you haven't heard. A pop artist may have five albums and that's it. It's "limited and manageable" instead of "unlimited and hopeless". When I discover a new pop artist, collecting ALL OF the albums is (most of the time) a fun little task (discovering Tangerine Dream was almost like discovering classical music, but that is an exception). Classical music is hopeless. I could have stopped collecting classical music 10 years ago I and still would have enough of it for a lifetime. I hate the constant feeling of "missing great things". Well, people will miss 99,999 % of all things because they don't live for a million years. I should be happy for knowing and enjoying Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony instead of worrying about the other symphonies. The two Saint-Saëns discs I just ordered might be the only ones in years. Hell, I am just discovering Ives. 

[mc ukrneal]

Camilla Wicks in Concert: Five Decades of Treasured Performances (BOXSET)

Bach Partitas (Edna Stern)

Brett Dean: Lost Art of Letter Writing (Zimmermann, Sydney Symphony, Nott)

1.    PE 156-PHOENIX/AUSTRIA: "Medtner, Nikolai rarities


2.    5186389-PENTATONE: "Beethoven, Piano Sonatas 30-32.

3.    CDA 67791-HYPERION: "Goetz, Hermann [1840-1876]:
Piano concerto"

4.    CDA 67854-HYPERION: "Schoendorff, Philipp

5.    777307-2-CPO: "Rontgen, Julius [1855-1932]: Symphonies"...
   1

6.    HMU 907406-HARMONIA MUNDI: "Chopin, Piano Sonata #3.
Ravel, "…Chen Sa

7.    1CD 31867-COL LEGNO: "Halffter, Cristobal [b.1930]:

8.    ZZT 070201-ZIG ZAG: "Schumann, Prelude and Fugue, Fantasy in C (Edna Stern)

9.    TAH 488/9-TAHRA: "Beethoven, Symphony #9. (Two
performances, Furtwangler"… (Stockholm…)

10.    8.559006-NAXOS: "Willson, Meredith {1902-1984}: Symphonies

I just made a BRO purchase last night too and got 2-4 on your list! I already have the Rontgen, which I enjoy...