Search - Camille Saint-Saens, Christian Badea, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra :: Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony No.3 "Organ"/Phaéton

The closest to perfection I've found...

Pirate Penguin | Jacksonville, FL United States | 04/17/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The "Organ" symphony has long been my favorite piece of music, in spite of the fact that I am a horn player and should therefore automatically name the Mahler 5th as best. :-) The Organ Symphony simply has too much to offer. Saint-Seans expresses in 30 minutes the beauty, grandeur, simplicity, complexity, intensity and calm that composers like Mahler, et al. could take over an hour - and still have left something out! That is what makes the Organ Symphony such a masterpiece. This recording is the crown jewel of my collection. Including LPs and CDs, I own about 25 seperate recordings of this symphony alone, so I consider myself fairly well versed in its performance. I have studied the score and read books about its writing. So it is by no small token of admiration that I consider this recording to be the best of them all to date. The blend between instruments is wonderful - kudos to the recording engineers. One rarely gets the sense that one section is overpowering another. The solo lines are played beautifully in the winds and strings, and the organ playing is just as masterful.I must admit, however, that the biggest reason I consider this my favorite recording of this piece lies solely in the final bars. Far too often I hear composers taking the trumpet fanfare at the end either much too fast or much too slow. Christian Badea's interpretation of the tempo for this section is exactly as I would conduct it and rounds out the symphony in an appropraite flourish of heroic grandeur."

The best Organ Symphony recording ever

Mamalov | Long Island, New York USA | 07/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I heard this recording for the first time yesterday, on my car radio, which is basically a tin box. It completely blew me away. I've loved the piece for years, and heard many different recordings, but this one outshines all the rest by far, even on a tin box radio. I heard details I've never heard before. I like the tempi Badea takes. I had no idea that the organ and orchestra were recorded at seperate locations, and I look forward to learning whether the recordings were done simultaneously or at different times as well. This recording is a triumph of composition, performance, musicianship, conducting, and engineering, all rolled into one. A Not-To-Be-Missed experience. Thank you, Maestro Badea."

Almost Perfect Pitch

D. Seymour | Atlanta, GA USA | 10/24/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This disc is one of my favorites for the sheer intensity of the music more than anything else. The tunes are intricate and evolve intellectually throughout. The "Organ" Symphony gives the impression of attending a Command Performance at which the dignitary arrives about 30 fashionable minutes late. The organ and the orchestra were recorded in separate locations. So, once the organ arrives one gets the definite impression that the orchestra is deliberately pacing itself to allow the organ to keep up. This usually doesn't bother me because the organ is supposed to take center stage at this point anyway. The inclusion of Phaeton make a perfect companion piece. It almost feels like a 3rd movement to the "Organ" as it has similar hair-pin turn themes and is just as inspired."