Customer Reviews

Saint-Saëns: Symphony No.3, 'Organ Symphony'

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have in fact heard a number of recordings of the Organ symphony including James Levine, Lorin Maazel among many others. Upon hearing this version, my mind has been made up that it is my favorite recording. Von Karajan commands a wonderful balance from the orchestra. The strings pervade the work, and one clearly sees the classical style that Saint Saens held on to, although he composed in more of what I would call a romantic classical style. Anyway, the strings are the highlight of this recording: lush, together, brilliant

Everything the other reviewers have said is true. This recording can only be described in superlatives. However, the work is only 38 minutes long! That's less than half the CD! I grant that the picture on the cover is very cool, but you'll get more of your money's worth if you buy the set of Ravel, Debussy, and Saint-Saëns from the Karajan Forever series (if you don't mind the "Nature Boy Karajan" picture on the cover of that set). Same recording of the organ symphony, other great stuff, less money.

Karajan's innate insight and understanding comes to full fruition in this "Organ" Symphony. The music seems to flow directly from Saint-Saens pen. I would recommend this recording to anyone.

This CD comes from the collection of Karajan Gold digital recordings that he did late in life. This recording among many others in the series establishes Karajan as the Music Director of Europe. Until his dying day, he was in top shape.

This performance of the beautiful organ symphony can be tricky in trying to achieve the balance between the organ and the orchestra. However, Karajan masterfully keeps that balance and the effects are magical.

Never have i head an organ thunder as in the opening of the last movement. This truly is a recording that cannot be beat.

If you like the Karajan gold series, do not hesitate to pick up his recording of the Strauss Eine Alpinsonfie as well.

and as a Saint-Saens fan, I have heard many. You may have heard the piece too, but you have NEVER heard an organ like this before and nothing can prepare you for it. I definitely prefer the Karajan to some others I have heard (Ormandy, Levine, Mehta, Ozawa, Bareboim) and I like the tempo of this performance best. And sonically, it simply can't be beat.
So why no 5 stars? It is hard to justify buying a $15 disc for 38 minutes of music, regardless of how good that music may be. Still, if you realy like Saint-Saens and want a great recording of what is most likely his greatest work, this is the one to get.

This recording features the great organ of the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, no less.

I heard this symphony on PBS and thought it incredibly beautiful. I did not know the title so I called the station to acquire the information and then contacted Amazon. It's a lovely piece.

I don't know how helpful this review will be, since it's not going to be about anything technical. It's just the greatest version ever. Great pace, great recording, great performance, great conductor, great acoustics, great explosions, and I get goosebumps every time the 4th movement begins. This is THE version to buy. Not to mention, the CD didn't use any filler; I mean after the half hour symphony, the album stops spinning. What's great about that is it leaves you in friggin awe somewhere lost behind the dark side of the moon. It doesn't fill up space with anything else to take you back home. It just takes you away and leaves it to you to get up and eventually turn the CD player off. I'm blown away by this performance and I highly recommend it to everyone.

As this is my favourite symphony, I eagerly awaited this CD. Saint-Sean, Karajan, Notre Dame, Berliner Philharmoniker - what more could one ask? However, technically I am a little disappointed. One would imagine the magnificent Notre Dame organ to be amazing (and I am sure it is) however the dynamic range of this recording seems compromised and in what should have been an overwhelming experience, one is left feeling a little short-changed. (I recently heard this symphony live). The general overall impression of this iconic recording is that it sounds tinny. I have just received a 10 CD box set of Karajan (selected works). Same label, Deutsche Grammophon. It's perfect.

At 37 min., this is a horribly stingy CD, and I would point buyers to the Karajan Forever two-fer mentioned by another reviewer -- it includes this Saint-Saens Third as part of a much longer colleciton of Ravel and Debussy.

That said, one can see why DG spotlighted this blockbuster performance on its own CD, as they did Karajan's version of Holst's The Planets. Wioth such supremelyu confident execution by the Berliners, Saint-Saens empty stretches, of which there are more than a few, gain in dignity and poise. But most listeners skip the boring parts for the fireworks at the end. The engineers spliced in the organ of Notre Dame, which sounds mammoth and reedy enough to accommodate the hunchback (Karajan's cover photo rather looks as if he crawled out of the crypt himself), so for once we can see why the composer warned prospective listeners that this music would be terrifying. The Berliners don't surpass the BSO for excitement in Munch's famous Living Stereo account, but to tell the truth, the sonics here are better -- more lifelike and dynamic. Karajan gives us pure caviar form beginning to end.