Orchestra, Organ (Fl1, Fl2 , Fl3(Fl-picc), 2 Ob, EnglHn, 2 clarinet, clarinet-B, 2 bassoon, bassoon-Co, Hn1, Hn2 , Hn3(chrom.), Hn4(chrom.), 3Trp, 3trombone, timpani, Tr-Gr, Tri, Be, Org, piano-4ms, 2 Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass) - Level 5

SKU: BA.BA10303-01

Composed by Camille Saint-Saens. Edited by Michael Stegemann. This edition: Edition of selected works, Urtext edition. Linen. Saint-Saens, Camille. Oevres instrumentales completes I/3. Edition of selected works, Score. Opus 78. Duration 39 minutes. Baerenreiter Verlag #BA10303_01. Published by Baerenreiter Verlag (BA.BA10303-01).

ISBN 9790006559503. 33 x 26 cm inches. Key: C minor. Preface: Michael Stegemann.

The third symphony by Camille Saint-Saens, known as the Organ Symphony, is the first publication in a complete historical-critical edition of the French composer's instrumental works.

I gave everything I was able to give in this work. [...] What I have done here I will never be able to do again.Camille Saint-Saens was rightly proud of his third Symphony in C minor Op.78, dedicated to the memory of Franz Liszt. Called theOrgan Symphonybecause of its novel scoring, the work was a commission from the Philharmonic Society in London, as was Beethoven's Ninth, and was premiered there on 19 May 1886. The first performance in Paris followed on 9 January 1887 and confirmed the composer's reputation asprobably the most significant, and certainly the most independent French symphonistof his time, as Ludwig Finscher wrote in MGG. In fact the work remains the only one in the history of that genre in France to the present day, composed a good half century after the Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz and a good half century before Olivier Messiaen's Turangalila Symphonie.

You would think that such a famous, much-performed and much recorded opus could not hold any more secrets, but far from it: in the first historical-critical edition of the Symphony, numerous inconsistencies and mistakes in the Durand edition in general use until now, have been uncovered and corrected. An examination and evaluation of the sources ranged from two early sketches, now preserved in Paris and Washington (in which the Symphony was still in B minor!) via the autograph manuscript and a set of proofs corrected by Saint-Saens himself, to the first and subsequent editions of the full score and parts. The versions for piano duet (by Leon Roques) and for two pianos (by the composer himself) were also consulted. Further crucial information was finally found in his extensive correspondence, encompassing thousands of previously unpublished letters. The discoveries made in producing this edition include the fact that at its London premiere, the Symphony probably looked quite different from its present appearance ...

No less exciting than the work itself is the history of its composition and reception, which are described in an extensive foreword. With his Symphony, Saint-Saens entered right into the dispute which divided French musical life into pro and contra Wagner in the 1880s and 1890s. At the same time, the work succeeded in preserving the balance between tradition and modernism in masterly fashion, as a contemporary critic stated:The C minor Symphony by Saint-Saens creates a bridge from the past into the future, from immortal richness to progress, from ideas to their implementation.

On 19 March 1886 Saint-Saens wrote to the London Philharmonic Society, which commissioned the work:

Work on the symphony is in full swing. But I warn you, it will be terrible. Here is the precise instrumentation: 3 flutes / 2 oboes / 1 cor anglais / 2 clarinets / 1 bass clarinet / 2 bassoons / 1 contrabassoon / 2 natural horns / [3 trumpets / Saint-Saens had forgotten these in his listing.] 2 chromatic horns / 3 trombones / 1 tuba / 3 timpani / organ / 1 piano duet and the strings, of course. Fortunately, there are no harps. Unfortunately it will be difficult. I am doing what I can to mitigate the difficulties.

As in my 4th Concerto [for piano] and my [1st] Violin Sonata [in D minor Op.75] at first glance there appear to be just two parts: the first Allegro and the Adagio, the Scherzo and the Finale, each attacca. This fiendish symphony has crept up by a semitone; it did not want to stay in B minor, and is now in C minor.

It would be a pleasure for me to conduct this symphony. Whether it would be a pleasure for others to hear it? That is the question. It is you who wanted it, I wash my hands of it. I will bring the orchestral parts carefully corrected with me, and if anyone wants to give me a nice rehearsal for the symphony after the full rehearsal, everything will be fine.

When Saint-Saens hit upon the idea of adding an organ and a piano to the usual orchestral scoring is not known. The idea of adding an organ part to a secular orchestral work intended for the concert hall was thoroughly novel - and not without controversy. On the other hand, Franz Liszt, whose music Saint-Saens' Symphony is so close to, had already demonstrated that the organ could easily be an orchestral instrument in his symphonic poem Hunnenschlacht (1856/57). There was also a model for the piano duet part which Saint-Saens knew and may possibly have used quite consciously as an exemplar: theFantaisie sur la Tempetefrom the lyrical monodrama Lelio, ou le retour a la Vie op. 14bis (1831) by Berlioz. The name of the organist at the premiere ist unknown, as, incidentally, was also the case with many of the later performances; the organ part is indeed not soloistic, but should be understood as part of the orchestral texture.

In fact the subsequent success of the symphony seems to have represented a kind of breakthrough for the composer, who was then over 50 years of age.My dear composer of a famous symphony, wrote Saint-Saens' friend and pupil Gabriel Faure:You will never be able to imagine what a pleasure I had last Sunday [at the second performance on 16 January 1887]! And I had the score and did not miss a single note of this Symphony, which will endure much longer than we two, even if we were to join together our two lifespans!

About Barenreiter Urtext

What can I expect from a Barenreiter Urtext edition?< /p>

MUSICOLOGICA LLY SOUND
- A reliable musical text based on all available sources
- A description of the sources
- Information on the genesis and history of the work
- Valuable notes on performance practice
- Includes an introduction with critical commentary explaining source discrepancies and editorial decisions

... AND PRACTICAL
- Page-turns, fold-out pages, and cues where you need them
- A well-presented layout and a user-friendly format
- Excellent print quality
- Superior paper and binding

Basso (cello/double bass) (1.2.2(0).2 - 2.0.0.0 - str)

SKU: BR.OB-5542-26

1st and 2nd Version - Urtext. Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Edited by Henrik Wiese. Orchestra; stapled. Orchester-Bibliothek (Orchestral Library).

3 Work Stages, 2 Versions, 1 Edition

,,… the musical text is fine. This is a valuable improvement. (Clifford Bartlett, Early Music Review)

Symphony; Classical. Part. 10 pages. Duration 35'. Breitkopf and Haertel #OB 5542-26. Published by Breitkopf and Haertel (BR.OB-5542-26).

ISBN 9790004341742. 10 x 12.5 inches.

With the new edition of the G-minor Symphony, a vital work group in Mozart's oeuvre is now complete: the three late symphonies K. 543, 550 and 551, now available in Urtext editions. As in his new edition of the Hafner Symphony, Henrik Wiese uncovers in the present Breitkopf Urtext score three different stages in the genesis of the G-minor Symphony. Mozart initially wrote the work without clarinets (1st stage), and then he added the clarinets (2nd stage). Not until a final stage did he change the wind instrumentation in the Andante (3rd stage). Mozart thus returned to the 1st version again after completing the 2nd version (with clarinets). This advances the importance of the 1st version without clarinets as Fassung letzter Hand. A compelling insight which sheds new light on the famous G-minor Symphony. Both versions are of equal value and can now be compared with one another, studied and, above all, performed for the first time ever thanks to the new score and parts.Another extremly practical aspect that should be noted: the orchestral parts offer solutions for all the problematic page turns for the first time ever (please see the sample pages of OB 5542 - Violin II.),,... the musical text is fine. This is a valuable improvement. (Clifford Bartlett, Early Music Review)

3 Work Stages, 2 Versions, 1 Edition.