Organ Symphony

Unlike the eponymous charioteer’s skills, Saint-Saëns technical skills were at their peak in his tone poem Phaeton: its galloping steeds racing to a catastrophic demise before a final lament for youthful hubris. Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto is an exuberant and passionate work filled with uninhibited virtuosity. It remains refreshingly original with its exciting and altogether exceptional opening, and richly forged musical dramas of powerful virtuosity and of uncommon sensitivity. A lyrical sensibility defines Lili Boulanger’s bright and festive picture of a carefree spring morning with its arabesque-like playfulness and delicate, highly transparent instrumentation. Saint-Saëns said that he had “given everything I was able to give” to his Third Symphony and this shows in its virtuosic piano passages, brilliant orchestral writing and the audacious use of organ. It reveals a genuine flair for sumptuous orchestral colour, suave and unforgettable melody and brilliant craftsmanship – the zenith of his symphonic output. There is simply nothing else quite like it.