SACD Charles Munch, Boston Symphony Orchestra – Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3 – A Stereo Spectacular

Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 as a hybrid multichannel SACD from Analogue Productions’ RCA Living Stereo series: Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with Berj Zamkochian at the organ, remastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analogue three-track tapes. The complete symphony plays in one sequence.

The organ is not the whole story

Of course you wait for the organ in Saint-Saëns’ Third Symphony – its arrival stands behind the work’s nickname and many a memorable demonstration of a music system. But reducing this recording to that effect misses the journey: the music earns its scale through transitions, returning ideas and an orchestra able to make room for a new colour.

Charles Munch conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with Berj Zamkochian at the organ. Recorded in Boston’s Symphony Hall in 1959, the album was issued by RCA as A Stereo Spectacular – a title from a time when stereo itself was still an exciting promise. Today it is just as rewarding to discover how carefully the composition beneath that billing is built.

Two large parts, four familiar functions

Saint-Saëns organises the symphony into two large parts, yet you can still recognise the functions of a four-movement symphony: an active opening, a slow section, a scherzo-like movement and a finale. The transitions are part of the design – these are not four independent movements with an unusual numbering.

That changes how you listen. A new section does not just follow; it transforms something already established. Follow the return of melodic ideas and hear what a different instrumentation does to them: when does a restrained gesture turn ceremonial, and when does settled material become urgent again? The work’s continuity is one of its great pleasures.

There is a piano beside the organ

Another unusual element is easily overshadowed by the famous organ writing: the score includes piano, at times played four hands – which is why both Bernard Zighera and Leo Litwin appear in the credits. The piano is no concerto soloist here; it adds to the ensemble’s colours and ways of moving, just as Zamkochian’s organ belongs to a texture of sustained sound, orchestral figures and harmonic change.

Commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society, the symphony was premiered in London in 1886 with the composer conducting, and it is dedicated to the memory of Franz Liszt. That connection invites you to hear an unfolding composition rather than a collection of impressive passages – behind the Stereo Spectacular lies a symphony with direction, memory and an extraordinary range of colour.

The hybrid multichannel SACD from Analogue Productions

CAPC 2341 SA is a hybrid multichannel SACD from Analogue Productions’ RCA Living Stereo series. According to the publisher, Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound remastered it from the original analogue three-track tapes – the original three-track session tapes were used for this reissue series. For the three-channel programme you need a multichannel-capable SACD player and a matching setup; the CD layer plays on any conventional CD player. The disc contains the complete symphony in four tracks.

You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and ship from Hilden.

More from the series: RCA Living Stereo Series

Also in other editions: double LP (45 RPM) · LP (33⅓ RPM)

More SACDs with Charles Munch: Debussy: La Mer / Ibert: Escales

Customer question: Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe

Musicians

Named soloists, conductors and ensembles. The album credits do not individually name every orchestra member.

• Charles MunchConductor
• Boston Symphony OrchestraOrchestra
• Berj ZamkochianOrgan
• Leo LitwinPiano
• Bernard ZigheraPiano