Salomon Past Concerts

Sunday 18th May 2008 at St John's Smith Square

Conductor Andrew Fardell

Messiaen L'Ascension

Weber Bassoon Concerto Bassoon Robin O'Neil

Saint-Saëns Symphony No.3 in C minor for orchestra with organ

Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen gained first prize in organ playing and improvisation in 1929 and he served as  the organist at la Sainte-Trinité (the church of Berlioz' funeral in 1869) for more than sixty years. He studied composition with Widor, most famous for his Symphonies for Organ, then orchestration with Dukas in 1927 gaining a first prize in composition in 1930. L'Ascension is probably best known for the organ, but it was originally an orchestral work completed in 1934 and first performed in Paris in 1936.

The orchestral work is in four brief sections: Majesté du Christ demandant sa gloire à son Père; Alleluias sereins d’une âme qui désire le ciel; Alleluia sur la trompette, alleluia sur la cymbale; Prière du Christ montant vers son Père.

For the organ version Messiaen replaced the 3rd movement with his famous Transports de joie, but the Alleluia on the trumpet, Alleluia on the cymbal is unsurprisingly most effective for orchestra.

Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber composed his Bassoon Concerto (1811) for Georg Friedrich Brandt of the Munich orchestra, Brandt having persuaded the king again to offer a commission after the 2 Clarinet Concertos. Weber was an innovator, asking for multiphonics in his Horn concerto (singing while playing - heard more radically in the Lindberg Clarinet Concerto from 2002, performed by Salomon in our October 2007 concert), but it was just 1826 when he died in London.

Robin O'Neil is joint principal bassoon in the Philharmonia Orchestra, and a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His previous association with Salomon was to conduct Mahler 6 to a packed SJSS in Feb-07.

Like Richard Strauss with Ein Heldenleben, Charles Camille Saint-Saëns' Symphony No.3 was his last attempt at large symphonic form, with echoes of his career to date appearing not least with the use of shimmering piano and majestic organ. The symphony was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society in England, and the first performance was given in London in 1886 conducted by the composer. Tunes and excerpts from the symphony have appeared in pop songs and films, recently best known for its use in the film Babe, and the symphony reached as high as number 15 in the Classic FM Hall of Fame in 2006.

Saint-Saëns was famous for stunning improvisations during his 20 years as organist at the Église de la Madeleine, and Liszt (to whom the 3rd Symphony is dedicated) observed that Saint-Saëns was the best organist in the world. He wrote his first symphony at the age of 16 and Berlioz famously said of his friend Il sait tout, mais il manque d'inexpérience (He knows everything, but lacks inexperience). He could be called a real renaissance man, publishing acoustic science, philosophy, poetry and a play, and was also a member of the Astronomical Society of France. His music and other work led to him being recognised with the Légion d'honneur. He died in Algiers in 1921, but his body was repatriated and after a state funeral at La Madeleine was buried at the Cimetière du Montparnasse.

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2007-2008

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