I bought the Naxos cycle a couple years ago after your very positive review. I adore the organ symphony but you're absolutely right; the other symphonies are very underappreciated!
Saint Saens is the most underrated composer in the world. Very melodic! Oh and by the way the Macelaru will be a tough act to follow. The sonics are superb and the playing is impeccable.
I acquired the Martinon cycle on LP back in the '70's and loved those records so much I picked them up on CD a decade later. It's encouraging to learn of these newer cycles! It gives me hope they might catch on a little bit. I just wish some of these works would make their way to the concert stage occasionally.
Even the first one he wrote at 15 (!) is wonderful and chock full of gorgeous melodies. All five are wonderful organic works and -- besides the Organ sym -- are terribly underrated.
I first heard Saint Saens 2nd piano concerto performed by Rubinstein and Previn in 1977 on public broadcasting (Great Masters I suppose). I have loved the music of Saint Saens ever since.
I'm definitely keen to explore more Saint-Saëns. Just about everything I've ever heard by him I've loved. My stupid snobbery has previously held me back saying he's a B grade French composer not worth my time. (Although I'd wouldn't mind too much if I never heard the Organ symphony again).
I'm glad to see you touting the Saint Saens symphonies. My introduction to them was the Martinon recordings on LP in the 1970s when I was still in college and they didn't mention anything of his past the Organ Symphony. I was especially intrigued to hear the saxhorns in the Symphony No. 1 - I was disappointed by how they sounded. One of them is so flat that it nearly ruins the performance in my mind. But the rest of it is fantastic! Thank you!
So glad I caught this video, as it has started me on a new interesting journey, comparing the available recordings of this still relatively rare repertoire. Kantorow seems to be a real S-S specialist (!) as he recorded three of the symphonies with the Tapiola Sinfonietta before that cycle unfortunately petered out. I say unfortunate because, on comparison, the earlier recordings seem more lively and involved than the later complete cycle with the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liege. I will probably end up picking and choosing a complete set of the symphonies, and Kantorow may well be at the core of it, because I feel his approach suits the Beethovenian aspects of the works.
Been listening to the Martinon cycle which I bought for peanuts & was shocked at how good they are. I only knew the 3rd & that was a big mistake on my part.
The Martinon has terrible intonation problems, especially in the first symphony. Of course it is an important set, and I nearly wore out my discs as a teenager. But with these great new sets it doesn’t hold up. Also, Kantorow has recorded most or all of the symphonies on BIS on older albums with the Tapiola Sinfonietta spread out amongst other SS (mostly concertante) works. It’s really amazing how many times he’s recorded works of SS! I recently listened to his 2nd with Tapiola and it’s wonderful. Glad you didn’t mention Yoel Levi with Ile de France - it’s not good, and doesn’t include the unnumbered symphonies.
I think Kantorow has only recorded the two minor symphonies and the 2nd for BIS, but not the 1st. And the third was, around that time, recorded by James dePriest for BIS. Perhaps that's why Kantorow didn't get to make the cycle complete at the time.
I got to know his Symphonies from the EMI Double-CD with Martinon. I am not an expert on intonation, so I'll skip that. My favorite is No. 1. A funny anecdote on the A Major Symphony. In the days of taping from the Radio (and mine was always glued to Radio 4), I once inserted a cassette, pressed record and drove to work. When I got home, I would listen to the composition, which was always announced. But not that particular morning (around 1980!), haha. It took me 6 months to realize what work it was, because by sheer coincidence, I was driving, had the radio on, but was about to play my 'unknown' composition! What was announced? You guessed it, the A Major Symphony!
The Martinon recordings in the Warner box are somehow mixed. The organ symphony is the same recording Warner included in the Martinon icon box and comes from Erato, and the other four symphonies come from the Martinon cycle recorded for EMI and now edited in a Warner twofer. So It is really not the EMI cycle. Anyway, they are excellent versions, but the EMI organ symphony, not included in the box, has for me better sound than the Erato one.
I’m thrilled that you did this video, as it may eventually have a little trickle-down impact in generating some interest in the composer in American concert halls. He’s performed very little. So much so that I expect most American audiences know almost nothing about him. As you have correctly noted elsewhere, Americans think most French orchestral music is light music, with just a couple exceptions, because the Austro-Germans have run much of musicology, at least up until the 1940s. Here’s hoping for a little Saint-Saens renaissance!
The Macelaru version of the 1st is so horrifically slow in the finale it’s almost unlistenable! Prêtre was the only one it seems who got the motoric/match like rhythm of that movement correct! It’s too slow for my tastes in every other recording!
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I bought the Naxos cycle a couple years ago after your very positive review. I adore the organ symphony but you're absolutely right; the other symphonies are very underappreciated!
Saint Saens is the most underrated composer in the world. Very melodic! Oh and by the way the Macelaru will be a tough act to follow. The sonics are superb and the playing is impeccable.
I acquired the Martinon cycle on LP back in the '70's and loved those records so much I picked them up on CD a decade later. It's encouraging to learn of these newer cycles! It gives me hope they might catch on a little bit. I just wish some of these works would make their way to the concert stage occasionally.
Even the first one he wrote at 15 (!) is wonderful and chock full of gorgeous melodies. All five are wonderful organic works and -- besides the Organ sym -- are terribly underrated.
Thanks for bringing these other sets to my attention, but for the money(and quality) I'm super happy with the NAXOS box 👍
I first heard Saint Saens 2nd piano concerto performed by Rubinstein and Previn in 1977 on public broadcasting (Great Masters I suppose). I have loved the music of Saint Saens ever since.
I'm definitely keen to explore more Saint-Saëns. Just about everything I've ever heard by him I've loved. My stupid snobbery has previously held me back saying he's a B grade French composer not worth my time. (Although I'd wouldn't mind too much if I never heard the Organ symphony again).
I often wish Munch had been asked to record a complete cycle of the symphonies as his recording of the 'Organ' symphony is a classic
I took your critique of the Naxos/Soustrot collection to heart, and I'm certainly not sorry. I bought it and really like it!
I'm glad to see you touting the Saint Saens symphonies. My introduction to them was the Martinon recordings on LP in the 1970s when I was still in college and they didn't mention anything of his past the Organ Symphony. I was especially intrigued to hear the saxhorns in the Symphony No. 1 - I was disappointed by how they sounded. One of them is so flat that it nearly ruins the performance in my mind. But the rest of it is fantastic! Thank you!
So glad I caught this video, as it has started me on a new interesting journey, comparing the available recordings of this still relatively rare repertoire. Kantorow seems to be a real S-S specialist (!) as he recorded three of the symphonies with the Tapiola Sinfonietta before that cycle unfortunately petered out. I say unfortunate because, on comparison, the earlier recordings seem more lively and involved than the later complete cycle with the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liege. I will probably end up picking and choosing a complete set of the symphonies, and Kantorow may well be at the core of it, because I feel his approach suits the Beethovenian aspects of the works.
Martinon is / was also on Brilliant Classics
Been listening to the Martinon cycle which I bought for peanuts & was shocked at how good they are. I only knew the 3rd & that was a big mistake on my part.
The Martinon has terrible intonation problems, especially in the first symphony. Of course it is an important set, and I nearly wore out my discs as a teenager. But with these great new sets it doesn’t hold up. Also, Kantorow has recorded most or all of the symphonies on BIS on older albums with the Tapiola Sinfonietta spread out amongst other SS (mostly concertante) works. It’s really amazing how many times he’s recorded works of SS! I recently listened to his 2nd with Tapiola and it’s wonderful. Glad you didn’t mention Yoel Levi with Ile de France - it’s not good, and doesn’t include the unnumbered symphonies.
I think Kantorow has only recorded the two minor symphonies and the 2nd for BIS, but not the 1st. And the third was, around that time, recorded by James dePriest for BIS. Perhaps that's why Kantorow didn't get to make the cycle complete at the time.
I got to know his Symphonies from the EMI Double-CD with Martinon. I am not an expert on intonation, so I'll skip that. My favorite is No. 1. A funny anecdote on the A Major Symphony. In the days of taping from the Radio (and mine was always glued to Radio 4), I once inserted a cassette, pressed record and drove to work. When I got home, I would listen to the composition, which was always announced. But not that particular morning (around 1980!), haha. It took me 6 months to realize what work it was, because by sheer coincidence, I was driving, had the radio on, but was about to play my 'unknown' composition! What was announced? You guessed it, the A Major Symphony!
The Martinon recordings in the Warner box are somehow mixed. The organ symphony is the same recording Warner included in the Martinon icon box and comes from Erato, and the other four symphonies come from the Martinon cycle recorded for EMI and now edited in a Warner twofer. So It is really not the EMI cycle.
Anyway, they are excellent versions, but the EMI organ symphony, not included in the box, has for me better sound than the Erato one.
I’m thrilled that you did this video, as it may eventually have a little trickle-down impact in generating some interest in the composer in American concert halls. He’s performed very little. So much so that I expect most American audiences know almost nothing about him. As you have correctly noted elsewhere, Americans think most French orchestral music is light music, with just a couple exceptions, because the Austro-Germans have run much of musicology, at least up until the 1940s. Here’s hoping for a little Saint-Saens renaissance!
After your recent review of the new Warner cycle I got both that cycle and the Naxos cycle and found the sound of the Naxos cycle to be far superior.
I didn't, but they're both very good.
The Macelaru version of the 1st is so horrifically slow in the finale it’s almost unlistenable! Prêtre was the only one it seems who got the motoric/match like rhythm of that movement correct! It’s too slow for my tastes in every other recording!
Then your taste needs adjusting.