Runtime: Approx. 38 minutes

In the latter part of the 19th century, a great debate sprang up amongst the German Romantics about the direction in which music should progress. In one camp, Richard Wagner and his acolytes sought to push the boundaries of music, incorporating story, grand theater, and expanding orchestral music in scale, duration, size, and form. In the opposite camp was Johannes Brahms who insisted on the continuation of absolute music—works that do not employ story or narrative. Brahms preferred the traditional symphonic forms of Beethoven and Mozart and used similarly sized orchestrations to the standard classical-era ensemble.

It was within this musical environment that French composer Camille Saint-Saëns produced his famous third symphony. The “Organ Symphony” was written in 1886 to fulfill a commission by the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society for a new symphonic work, and while Saint-Saëns’ choice to use the traditional four-movement symphonic form seems to cast his vote firmly in Brahms’ camp, he does incorporate some novel elements which serve to refashion the work. In Saint-Saën’s view, traditional forms need not be totally abandoned (as Wagner suggested) to contemporize symphonic music.

The last composer to significantly amend the symphony was Beethoven, who added the grand spectacle of a full chorus to his triumphant Ninth. Saint-Saëns was a great admirer of Beethoven, and was likely inspired by the composer’s significant contribution to the symphonic genre. Much like Beethoven, he sought to reinvigorate the traditional symphony by expanding on the typical orchestration to one of a more modern size, including several auxiliary instruments. Most significantly, he added two keyboard instruments to the ensemble: the piano and the organ, from which the work takes its name. Perhaps as a further homage to Beethoven, Saint-Saëns chose to perform one of Beethoven’s piano concerti on the first half of the work’s premiere concert.

Despite its novel orchestration, “Organ Symphony” utilizes rather simple melodic material throughout. Readily hummable, the melodies each appear in more than one movement, giving them an air of familiarity by the end of the piece that evokes the experience of hearing folk song. Perhaps because of this, themes from the symphony have been the frequent subjects of adaptations by songwriters, including a reimagining of the final movement’s theme into the song “If I Had Words” by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley. This song was later used in several film soundtracks, including as the main theme for the movie Babe.

Again echoing Beethoven, who ended his symphonic catalog with his iconic Ninth, Saint-Saëns would never again revisit the symphonic form. He felt that the “Organ Symphony” was the pinnacle of what he could contribute to the genre. “I gave everything to it I was able to give,” he remarked. “What I have here accomplished, I will never achieve again.”

For those audience members curious to further explore the Brahms-Wagner debate, the ASO’s next Masterworks series concert (October 25 & 26) presents two works that fully embrace team Wagner: Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Berlioz’s monumental Symphonie fantastique.

Valerie Sly 2024