Saint-Saëns: Symphony 3 & Poulenc: Organ Concerto

Two great symphonic organ concertos can be heard on BR-KLASSIK’s new CD: the famous organ symphony by Camille Saint-Saëns and the lesser known but highly impressive concerto for organ, string orchestra and timpani by Francis Poulenc. The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Mariss Jansons will play; the soloist will be the excellent Latvian musician Iveta Apkalna, one of the most renowned concert organists of our time.

In his Symphony No. 3 in C minor op. 78, the so-called “Organ Symphony” of 1886, Camille Saint-Saëns succeeded in integrating the organ into the musical structure of a symphonic work. He himself wrote about the last of his five symphonies: “Here I have given everything I could give. I will never write anything like this again.”

Francis Poulenc’s Concerto for Organ, String Orchestra and Timpani in G Minor was written in 1938 and pays homage to Johann Sebastian Bach at a time when it was hardly common to compose a solo concerto for organ. In contrast to the organ compositions of the baroque master, Poulenc admittedly prescribed a large organ with which impressive sound effects could be achieved.

The Latvian concert organist Iveta Apkalna, already the first organist to be awarded an ECHO Klassik prize in 2005, made her debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Claudio Abbado in 2007 and has since then performed all over the world. As titular organist of the new Klais organ in the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie she opened the new Konzerthaus 2017 with world premieres of works by Wolfgang Rihm – together with Thomas Hengelbrock and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester. In 2018, she was awarded the highest music prizes in Latvia in the categories “Musician of the Year” and “Concert of the Year”; in the same year, she was awarded the country’s highest national order of merit during the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Latvia. – As “Artist in Residence” of the hr-Sinfonieorchester Iveta Apkalna Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony will be performed at the end of February 2020 in Frankfurt for the performance.