Discover Saint-Saëns 'Organ' Symphony - Podcast Ep. #4

[@InsidetheScore]

This is the final episode of the initial 4 I had planned - I am now taking a week off to work on a larger project for this channel, and then will be back with episodes that you've requested! Plus any other great works I think are worth covering. Thanks so much for the support in these initial episodes; it seems clear to me that overall this series is well worth continuing, particularly in this stage of my life where I don't have the time to make more "graphically based" videos during my masters degree. Also, inevitably, most of my content on this channel gets marked for copyright, and any income the videos make go to the copyright owner, in this case the Record Labels. Fair Use disputes don't always win. I expected this when I started the channel and I don't mind; I'm grateful the videos are allowed to remain up. However, I'm considering starting a Patreon as I move forward, to help me realistically balance this long term project with real life. I just thought I would announce that because some of you may have thoughts - on how that could work, on reward systems, or anything! Lots of love and catch you with a new, in a week or so! Oscar

[@erickus36]

Well sir have a nice time off and thank you for making those videos I for one truly enjoy them. I love classical music and I love learning about music we never lear enough! Take care and again thank you!

[@kozatas]

Sir, I really wonder your thoughts about Basil Poledouris' epic score of Conan The Barbarian (1982). An episode would be wonderful, a few minutes video would be great, even a couple of sentences is very much appreciated. Here is a sample kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHbTaGmmpbWWbtE

[@clairenicholls]

Hi Inside the Score Thank you for your videos. I'm really keen to cite your work correctly in my PhD thesis on pedagogies of listening and orchestral music. But there are some finer details that I need to do this properly. Could you email me please at [e-mail] ?

[@-.-3772]

I'd be very grateful if you covered Beethoven's 7th or his 9th! (his 3rd or 6th would also be nice, really any Beethoven would be great, but his 7th and 9th are my favourites and the ones I'm most curious to see your perspective on) Keep up the great work, and thank you so much for these insightful videos!

[@colincannon8072]

@@-.-3772 I too would love something on the seventh or the ninth. Thank you.

[@artlyons9024]

I love it when the organ forces it's way in in the end

[@R.Williams]

I'm totally enjoying your podcasts while walking my dog. I'm a big classical music fan but know surprisingly little about various subjects that you cover. I'm learning a lot and expanding my listening playlists. Thanks so much for all your hard work putting these out! 😄

[@s610772058]

Saint Saens deserve to be more appreciated. His piano concerto 4 remains my favourite of the favourite.

[@RouletteRog]

This is the piece of music that got me into classical music. Specifically, Charles Dutoit's recording with Montreal Symphony Orchestra.

[@jakegearhart]

Saint-Saëns is one of my favorite composers. My orchestra just finished doing a small tour where among other pieces, we played Sain-Saëns' Bacchanale. It has one of my favorite intros when the pizzicato strings come in after the Oboe solo.

[@josephunderwood1875]

Love these. Do Mahler's 9th and Shostakovich's 6th! What a wonderful symphony. Romantic era French works are so colorful. Franck, Dukas, Faure, etc.

[@kapkapi]

I wish he did shostakovitch’s 6th

[@aprilshowers1271]

Smetana's "Ma vlast" (the whole work, not just the famous movement!) Also would love to see you delve into concertos, chamber music, etc

[@etherealtb6021]

Yes, please!

[@HowardS185]

The part of the coda that I love best is when the organ pedals thunder right down the scale. Fantastic!

[@lukegregg5944]

Always a pleasure so have another episode! Great series.

[@rigellin2325]

As always, you provide amazing insight into these works. As for suggestions, I'd love for you to cover Gabriel Fauré's Requiem - one of my personal favourites!

[@Xerxes2005]

Host, Saint-Saëns and then Fauré's Requiem, that would be three of my favorite works! I approve entirely!

[@dominiquebois7024]

I'm in love with this piece since I was a kid. My first own recording of it was in the 70's a Bareboïm's cassette version with Pierre Cochereau I think (It may still be here in some box). I thank you for making clearer to me why I'm so moved by this music. As often, tears went out when the organ enters, purring like a big fluffy beast at the beginning of the 2nd movement...

[@miriamhelbok5736]

Brilliant and thrilling analysis of a thrilling masterpiece of the classical repertory!!!!!

[@diogoduarte4482]

Your view on this work and the others of this series is wonderfull! I only get this excited when i hear Lenny talking. Thank you very much for your beautiful words!

[@InsidetheScore]

Wow - high praise - Lenny was an idol in my late teens. Far more of a polymath than I

[@robertcaldwell910]

You DO exude the information in a way that does remind me of the late, great Lenny, who FELT the music! If you don't mind a slight hint, Lenny was among many "old timers", who referred to Symphonies as Works, not "pieces". Is THIS a modern trend? If so, let's cut it out ! Symphonies are OPUSES, hence W-O-R-K-S ! One would hopefully not insult a ship by terming it boat. BTW...as you probably know, Lenny conducted a FAMOUS recording of Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony in 1973 in Ely Cathedral. The very opening featured Strings attacks, the likes of which are seldom heard. Janet Baker was amazing in the "Urlicht" movement. Toward the very end Lenny looked like he was screen testing for "The Lion King" Scene, when 'Simba' took over...lol ! Janet Baker, as you probably know, sang a nice "Kindertotenlieder" under Leonard Bernstein, aka Lenny. This can be found on You Tube. Mahler, who conducted several of the same orchestras as Lenny, related how he would NOT have been able to compose the Work, had his very young daughter had died first.

[@robertcaldwell910]

As you can see from my Reply to Stephen, who rightfully suggests Ravel, I connected Ravel to his student, "RrrAYFFF" Vaughan Williams. The two became good friends, both serving in WW1. You'll also see, to cut to the chase, I ended up with the S-P-E-C-I-A-L 2010 centennial of the premier of "Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis" at the Gloucester Cathedral with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sir Andrew Davis. As you probably know, the Work is composed for Strings and has the concept of an Organ with several Manuals. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5nbZn95e5asgLs

[@kurtgandenberger6139]

the 32 (or even 64) foot pipes can cause your seat and chest to vibrate while you are overwhelmed by the finale. this symphony is best heard in a carhedral.

[@QHarefield]

Thank you, so much, for your clear exposition of this wonderful piece. I have always loved this symphony, ever since my grandfather, who was an organist for over half a century, discovered the LP one day, and bought it for his teenage grandson. Over the decades, it has just kept growing on me but you have opened it up so much more. Thank you again.

[@ncgrealestate7890]

Oscar Osicki’s discrimination of this symphony is wonderful, thank you Oscar Osicki

[@reeblesnarfle4519]

One of my very favorite pieces of all times. 💜🔥👏 Of which I own... on vinyl ! Thanks for the breakdown. Gives me more appreciation for the piece, and the mind that created it.🙏

[@עמיתמשיח-צ1נ]

I would love it if you covered Rachmaninoff's second symphony.

[@ilkinond]

I believe BBC Radio 3 Discovering Music does a program about the Rach Symphony no. 2

[@riverstun]

Love this symphony, and not just because I love the organ, in general, and here, the way its used here. Saint-Saens when he wants can be a very playful composer, and that's how I'd describe this work. Playful. I think the best reason to listen to these podcasts is for people to discover new pieces, or re-discover, as may be. In that light, and because they really complement the Mahler and this, you might consider Bruckner's symphonies, maybe his 4th or 5th, but there are other good ones. He's a bit slow in spots - in a good way, once you know the works - but his counterpoint is amazing, and he has some quite thrilling brass - in the same way as the organ is thrilling here.

[@bb5bucks]

Beethoven 5 -> Tchaikovsky 4 -> this -> Mahler 2 is a nice chronological set of dark to light symphonies

[@dpbmss]

Though it was actually composed around the time of the passing of Franz Liszt , to me, this symphony is about as nationalistic French as it gets. It is about real struggles and real triumphs. I too have always loved this symphony and it certainly has something so intimately French, having been there a few times. The organ symbolizes the real authentic Christian and nationalist religious faith of the ordinary Frenchman, also sometimes connected with the Virgin Mary. The entire work demonstrated CSS's mastery of the orchestra. Wonderful music.

[@etherealtb6021]

OMG. My favorite piece that most people don't know! Waiting to hear this in person, in a hall with a good organ!

[@BaronElBardo]

I hope someday you will review Darius Milahude - Le Creation Du Monde. In my opinion the best example of how to use saxophones in classic orchestra.

[@jono_9930]

An analysis of Tchaikovsky's 4th, 5th and/or 6th would be much appreciated.

[@InsidetheScore]

Yeeeeeeees so good!

[@KitsuNerezza]

I remember falling in love with Danse Macabre when I first heard about this composer a little over ten years ago, it's my favourite symphonic poem to this day! Anyway great video, it's great to hear about this master of composition!

[@musicstewart9744]

Watching this in preparation for hearing it live at the Philadelphia Orchestra tomorrow afternoon.

[@kenm.3512]

I have the Barenboim/Chicago reading on DG. I also have the Martinon complete set of CSS symphonies. I love them all. Once again Oscar, your analysis and commentary are a pleasure to hear. Thank you very much for this excellent presentation. Now, I think I need to listen to the Barenboim CSO (excellently played and heavily miked. One person I know thinks it's too much miking)...or the Plasson (a bit too much hall reverberation in this one. One big congealed mass in the finale.) or the Munch (wonderfully natural). I like the Martinon too, although it is a bit circumspect. Critics call it the weak link in his excellent set. Eschenbach? I have not heard that one. Thanks for mentioning it!

[@madisontaylormusic]

Thank you so much for this podcast on Camille's organ symphony! I'm typing up a research paper for my college music history class that is based entirely on the stylistic development of this work, so this video was super helpful. As for recommendations, I'd like to understand the development of Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu. Thanks!

[@colincannon8072]

Love, love, love this channel. Something on Beethoven's 7th or 9th or Mozart's 40th would be very appreciated, thank you.

[@lucadenti7219]

Thank you and compliment for your deep analysis. I advise you to do an analysis about the 2nd symphony of Rachmaninoff, in particular the moving Adagio.

[@JoeMullanMusic]

Good shout. Or any of Sibelius 2,3,5 or 7... or Brahms 4

[@lookingfororion2785]

Joe Mullan Yes! Brahms 4 is excellent through and through

[@JCSamuelson]

Fantastic as always. I hope you realize what a valuable service it is you're doing, making this form of music and these works accessible to a modern audience. Music appreciation is, well, underappreciated in a world dominated by soundbites.

[@InsidetheScore]

You're very kind

[@robertcaldwell910]

@@InsidetheScore J.C. Samuelson has a great point here. In addition to the soundbites mania, we can add that music appreciation is too often so POORLY taught. Our hero, Lenny, shows us the vast difference with his famous Young People's Concerts, many on You Tube. Quite a few, who have encountered those Concerts for the first time, were not even born when those shows were first aired. A LOT of them remark, how they WISH they had H-I-M for a music teacher in school !!! :) Lenny F---E---L---T the music ! Here's a neat example. kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJyponmggL-KbpI

[@InsidetheScore]

@@robertcaldwell910 I've been a huge Lenny fan for many many years. All the books, all the lectures, etc. Very much inspired what I try to do with my channel, though I sometimes go astray

[@etherealtb6021]

Omg. The ending in this version you played 😮😯

[@jerryzhao8125]

Thank you for this amazing series

[@wyattwahlgren8883]

I know I'm a bit late to the game, but I suggest something from the baroque period. Maybe perhaps something by Gabrielli. I really love how he uses different choirs to have a "surround sound" effect in the music. I am thinking of Sonata Pian' e forte in particular (or any of his canzons). I also suggested on one of the other videos to do anything by Dvorak. I think Dvorak is not appreciated as much as he should be. Some of his works that I really love are his 8th and 9th symphonies, his requiem (I have only listened to it once, but it was still a good listen), and the op. 46 Slavonic Dances. I really appreciate these videos. They are good contributions to the world of music. Thank you.

[@lookingfororion2785]

Brahms’ 4th Symphony. I have scarcely heard a piece that conveys such intense rage and turmoil

[@markquavertune2003]

Thank you .I have enjoyed the insight into Saint -Saen's third symphony .I have the recording of Marc Soustrot which is from 1984 .Orchestre Philharmonique .

[@johnleggett5054]

Fantastic! - many thanks for this latest video. This is developing into a remarkable resource. Would love to see an analysis of Danse Macabre by Saint-Saëns (the piece of music which introduced me to classical music when I was eleven years old).

[@Richard-b5r9v]

The very ending is the timpanist s dream solo

[@TheChannelofOrange]

If I had words to make a day for you.....

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

In the Adagio, notice how he paired the solo trombone with upper woodwinds to mimic an organ stop? It strikes me as rather amusing...sort of a tongue-in-cheek maneuver by the composer, as he could have simply used the organ for the solo line.

[@jacobbass6226]

Once you start coming back please focus on some solo works like concertos. I recommend Weber clarinet concerto no. 2

[@Dragontrumpetare]

Was in an orchestra performing this once that fourth part that is. And its a kinda tough to play, but wonderful music. And its about a little piglet... nah not really. It became a little part of this Wilbur movie. :-)

[@jackdoherty762]

I’d love to see some more contemporary pieces on this, something like the ligeti concerti or the Ben Johnston string quartets to name some personal favourites.

[@Hailstormand]

I guess 'a monster rising from the hellish depths' doesn't cut it anymore 💖💖

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

Recordings of this work are numerous, but it presents problems for the recording engineers. It’s very difficult getting proper balance between the orchestra and organ. That’s why, even with orchestra halls that have organs, the organ is often recorded separately and patched in by the engineers. However, there many recordings in which everything was recorded in the same sound space. One of these is, I believe, the classic Munch Boston recordings. Another...and this one is special mainly for the acoustic....is Abravanel, recorded in the Mormon Tabernacle with its fabulous organ and sound acoustic. The Westminster engineers did a fine job of capturing the fine performance in a true sound space. (Alas, the Finale lacks the last bit of power and glory...otherwise, this would be at the very top of my list.)

[@Xerxes2005]

Why not Pictures at an Exhibition, by Modest Mussorgski? Or Má vlast, by Bedrich Smetana?

[@reynard61]

My go-to recording for this piece is the Ormandy/Fox/Philadelphia Orchestra version by RCA. As for recommendations for a future podcast, I'd like to throw in suggestions for Berlioz's Big Three sacred choral works: The Missa solennelle; the Requiem, Op. 5; and the Te Deum, Op.22.

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

Isn’t that the one in which Fox plays an electronic organ?

[@reynard61]

@@LyleFrancisDelp I wouldn't know. From what little I could find on Google and Wikipedia the venue in which it was recorded (The Scottish Rite Temple/Town Hall in Philadelphia) was demolished in 1983 and I can't find any information as to whether or not the building had an organ installed. (I would assume that it did. I know that the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Indianapolis, where I live, has one.)

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

@@reynard61 If memory serves, it is stated on the album cover that Fox plays an electronic. But I’m also remembering that he recorded it twice, so yours may be with a true pipe organ.

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

@@reynard61 They did record one in 1973. On that recording, fox played a Rodgers touring organ.

[@sc698]

Since we are on Impressionism you should cover Maurice Ravel

[@robertcaldwell910]

Absolutely, Stephen!!! :) I'm brand new here, so at the risk of this already being done, it would be nice to have Ravel's influence and friendship with "RrrrAYFFF" (Ralph Vaughan Williams). Having been just once briefly in England, I never tasted a Maurice favorite: kidney pudding. I'm aware, in England a pudding is not a dessert, rather a casserole or something, true?!? As you may know, Ravel and "RrrrAYFFF" served in WW1, the latter losing his dear friend, George Butterworth, who otherwise was on his way to being a second "RrrAYFFF". Butterworth's death was on a par with the loss of another dear friend in 1934: Gustav Holst. "RrrAYFFF" lived till his mid 80s but otherwise...like Beethoven: --- composed nine Symphonies --- developed a hearing impediment due to very loud WW1 weapons . I cannot think of one Work of his lengthy list, that I would not like. For some reason, stuck up Elgar managed to snatch lots of glory. Very soon after resuming composing in England, Vaughan Williams came out with "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis", premiered in 1910 in the Gloucester Cathedral. In 2010 Sir Andrew Davis conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the same Gloucester Cathedral as a centennial tribute. I have heard this Work numerous times by quite a few orchestras, but THIS one is S-P-E-C-I-A-L in that Cathedral ! I WISH to have been there! Vaughan Williams composed the WORK (It's an OPUS !) for Strings and has the concept of an Organ with several Manuals...W-O-W !!! kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5nbZn95e5asgLs

[@daviydviljoen9318]

You have to admit, Saint-Saëns understood orchestration... I've probably listened to this piece four times, still epic. Edit: Did you know that you can listen to Herbert von Karajan conduct the Berlin Philharmonic performing this on YT: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6fGoXqGp8l-mpo

[@scifience8297]

please if you resume this series then please do Beethoven's 9th (particularly op 125)

[@InsidetheScore]

Definitely, at some point

[@robertcaldwell910]

@@InsidetheScore You're such a Lenny enthusiast ! It would thus be a surprise, were you NOT to be familiar with the late 1989 Berlin Celebration Beethoven Ninth with L---E---N---N---Y !!! :) To me this is the BEST performance E---V--E---R !!!!!!! :) Would you agree? kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3rReGikjsSqqLc

[@ZacPB189]

I'd like to hear your takes on Bruckner's 5th and/or 6th symphonies!

[@BaronElBardo]

Ufff... Bruckner is hard to hear. Very dense music and colorless orchestration.

[@ZacPB189]

What are you talking about? Bruckner's orchestration is absolutely wonderful (not to mention super idiomatic), and he's no more dense than any other composer from his time. It's also worth mentioning that Bruckner's contrapuntal skills are right on par with Bach and Beethoven, while still being able to write with the melodic fluidity of Schubert. [edited: deleted double post and fixed grammar]

[@BaronElBardo]

@@ZacPB189 Ufff, I don't know. Maybe is just my impresion about Bruckner.

[@ZacPB189]

I suggest you try listening to Bruckner again. There are plenty of soft moments, especially in the middle and later symphonies, as well as in the choral works. The e-minor Mass is a masterpiece, and is one of the few works written for choir and "band" (aka winds, brass, and no strings).

[@BaronElBardo]

@@ZacPB189 I'm a saxophonist (born in Valencia, the "capital of music" of spain) I know what is a "Banda" Maybe I should try to heesr Bruckner with the score.

[@ajlasukrija1171]

Please do Vivaldi (Ah, ch'infelice sempre, or La Stravaganza, or Four seasons.....or any...) Or Dvorak -New world symphony...

[@KevvyBoyy]

Please cover Rachmaninoff's 2nd.

[@marklee5777]

Tsk, tsk! The best performance, though old, is Charles Munch & the Boston Symphony on RCA. Mark Lee Austin, Tx

[@scardenas2761]

Can you do and inside of Tchaikovsky please

[@augustosolari7721]

One question. What Is a scherzzo?

[@InsidetheScore]

See my video on listening to Symphonies and Sonatas!

[@shardumachal]

Brahms 1st symphony

[@InsidetheScore]

Yes!

[@jme104]

You just say Sain-Saënssss.

[@najrenchelf2751]

Any organism jokes at the musical climax yet? 😂

[@InsidetheScore]

Save that for Wagner

[@najrenchelf2751]

Inside the Score, alright, will try to remember. 🙃

[@larrymagee8758]

You mean orgasm, which is an entirely different thing.

[@paulreed1142]

Let us not forget, the use of the finale in "Babe", when the farmer sings to the pig. "If I had this day for you".