Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2

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DSD recorded

The development of the symphony in France until the beginning of modern times was primarily geared towards the mainstream, traditional German genre, focussing mostly on Mozart and Haydn, and - later on - mainly on Beethoven. In the case of the ensuing Romantic composers, Mendelssohn and Schumann, on whom European eyes were very quickly focussed, this statement is yet further underlined. But which parallel stages were now developing in France? Up until the 1820's, Joseph Haydn's four-movement symphony was considered the example to follow: for instance, his classical "diction" and treatment of the orchestra was taken over to a certain extent by Méhul and Reicha. Whereas the role played by the symphony in France had until then been quite a superficial one, the situation changed quite suddenly as Beethoven's works began to emerge. Hector Berlioz carried out the most significant analysis of Beethoven's oeuvre, developing in his Symphonie fantastique perhaps the most extreme transformation of the model created by Beethoven. Inevitably, there was no real successor to Berlioz, who had radically expanded the genre (also in his more classically oriented Harold en Italie and in his "symphonie dramatique", Roméo et Juliette, which integrated vocal elements into the symphonic movement). Apart from a few "excursions" to the "ode symphonie", other composers returned in their works to the classical elegance and freedom of programme, although influenced by Mendelssohn and Schumann. Among these works rank mainly compositions by Gounod, Bizet and Fétis.
However, the most important representative of the "Classicists" in the late 19th century was Camille Saint-Saëns, perhaps the only "universal genius in the history of music", as he was respectfully called by 20th-century critics, who otherwise accused him of unconcealed conservatism. He was poet and dramatist, but also astronomer, scientist, cartoonist, teacher and journalist. Nowadays, many of these other activities have been forgotten - only the compositions of Saint-Saëns remain, written during an almost unbelievable period of 80 years. A man, who was born eight years after the death of Beethoven, and died eight years after the première of Stravinsky's Sacre du printemps - it is hard to imagine any other composer experiencing such an abundance of musical developments, innovations and change in his lifetime.
Saint-Saëns proved to be a true "Monstrum an Begabung" (Kraemer = monster of talent), who was able to read notes and letters in no time. At three-and-a-half years old, he was writing his first piano compositions and, at the age of seven, reading Latin and Greek. While still an infant, he received piano lessons as well as lessons in the theory of music, and following his first concerts at the age of 10, the child prodigy was acclaimed as the "new Mozart". For two decades, he was the organist at the Église de la Madeleine in Paris; he toured the world as a conductor; and in 1871, he became one of the founders of the Société Nationale de Musique. The restlessness that coursed through his everyday life is reflected in the versatility of his compositions, which cover almost all musical genres. Nevertheless, only a few of his works remain in the present-day concert repertoire: for example, his Carnival of Animals; his "Organ" Symphony (about which the composer wrote in 1914: "Everything I had to give, I gave to this work...I will never be able to write anything like this again"); the symphonic poem Danse macabre; as well as a number of concertos.

His early symphonic works were dismissed by French audiences as too scholarly. Nevertheless, both his Symphony in A (1850) and his Symphony in F, with the epithet Urbs Romana (1856) - which did not receive an opus number - are full of close motivic references, and possess clear formal proportions as well as transparent instrumentation.

He wrote his Symphony No. 1 in E flat, Op. 2 - which lasts about half an hour - in 1853 (when he was eighteen years old!): both its formal balance and peaceful tone make it an impressive work. The influence of Mendelssohn and Schumann is clearly audible. The three movements of the sonata form are interrupted by repetitions of the slow introduction, from which is derived the dotted motif that dominates the entire first movement. The Allegretto scherzando presents the themes in a canonical manner, superimposed on a dancing rhythm in the strings. The slow movement is lyrical and full of modulations, its expansively spun-out melody overlying a mysterious tremolo in the strings. The martial Finale introduces a large contingent of wind-players. A powerful Fugato provides a sparkling ending. Just to mention an interesting bon mot: at its première, the symphony was at first presented as the work of an anonymous German master. Only after it became highly popular, did Saint-Saëns decide to confess to the authorship.

In its expressivity and the manner in which it deviates from the sonata form, his Symphony No. 2 in A minor, Op. 55 from 1859 far surpasses his earlier works. The first movement is introduced by a series of descending thirds, which returns not only during the movement, but also throughout the entire work in various rhythmic forms. The theme of the short Adagio, which makes only heavy progress, gives it more the character of an elegiac intermezzo, before the two-part Scherzo enters, which deviates from the general form, answering with powerful accents. The virtuoso Finale is a wild tarantella, presenting numerous themes, until the movement reaches a surprising standstill - before, at last, the final dance starts up to conclude the movement.