Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 2, Danse macabre & Urbs Roma

Featuring

Thierry Fischer
Madeline Adkins
Utah Symphony Orchestra
Camille Saint-Saëns

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Compositional Technique

The Symphony No 2 by Saint-Saëns begins with a fugue on the same material as its short prelude, an innovation that scandalized many in the audience at its premiere.

Composition History

Saint-Saëns's 'Danse macabre' originated as a song in 1873, but he reworked it for orchestra in 1874 after most singers found it too difficult.

Composition History

Saint-Saëns's Symphony in F major 'Urbs Roma' was written for a competition held by the Société Sainte Cécile of Bordeaux, which he won.

Composition History

The title 'Urbs Roma' for Saint-Saëns's Symphony in F major was an anonymous pseudonym required by the competition judges to ensure fair play.

Composer Biography

As a ten-year-old, Saint-Saëns's performances of Mozart's B flat concerto and Beethoven's third piano concerto led one critic to call him "one of those high intelligences that are epoch-making."

Composition History

Saint-Saëns never promoted or published his Symphony in F major 'Urbs Roma', which was finally published in 1974.

Notable Performances

Saint-Saëns's Symphony No 2 was dedicated to conductor Jules Pasdeloup, who gave its first Paris performance on March 25, 1860, following its world premiere in Leipzig.