Camille Saint-Saëns - Op. 78 - Symphony No. 3 in C minor "Organ Symphony" (1886)

[W.A. Mozart]

Camille Saint-Saëns composed this symphony in 1886, when he was 51 years old.

The symphony was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society (then called simply the Philharmonic Society) in England, and the first performance was given in London on 19 May 1886, at St James's Hall, conducted by the composer. After the death of his friend and mentor Franz Liszt on 31 July 1886, Saint-Saëns dedicated the work to Liszt's memory.

The composer seemed to know it would be his last attempt at the symphonic form, and he wrote the work almost as a type of "history" of his own career: virtuoso piano passages, brilliant orchestral writing characteristic of the Romantic period, and the sound of the organ suitable for a cathedral or large concert halls (which were typically equipped with the instrument). Saint-Saëns noted: "I gave everything to it I was able to give. What I have here accomplished, I will never achieve again." Although Saint-Saëns was asked, following the resounding success of the symphony at its French premiere in 1887, to compose another symphony, he would never again return to the genre.

Camille Saint-Saëns - Op. 78 - Symphony No. 3 in C minor "Organ Symphony" (1886):
I. Adagio. Allegro Moderato (00:00) - Poco Adagio (10:27)
II. Allegro Moderato. Presto. Allegro Moderato (20:06) - Maestoso (27:21)