Saint-Saëns: Symphonies, Vol. 1 Malmö SymfoniOrkester & Marc Soustrot

• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921): Symphony No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 2 (1852)
• 1 I. Adagio - Allegro 08:45
• 2 II. Marche - Scherzo: Allegretto scherzando 04:44
• 3 III. Adagio 12:29
• 4 IV. Finale: Allegro maestoso 07:43
• Symphony No. 2 in A minor, Op. 55 (1859)
• 5 I. Allegro marcato - Piu allegro - Tempo primo - Piu allegro - Tempo primo - Allegro appassionato 07:21
• 6 II. Adagio 03:51
• 7 III. Scherzo: Presto - Un poco meno mosso 04:28
• 8 IV. Prestissimo - Andantino - Tempo primo 07:20
• Phaéton – Symphonic Poem, Op. 39 (1873)
• 9 Phaeton, Op. 39 09:25
• Total Runtime 01:06:06

Info for Saint-Saëns: Symphonies, Vol. 1

Precocious as a child, Camille Saint-Saëns was once known as the French Mendelssohn. The remarkably assured First Symphony, completed at the age of 17, was praised by Berlioz and Gounod at its first performance. The elegantly crafted Second Symphony defies convention not least by basing the first movement on a fugue, while the symphonic poem Phaéton skilfully brings this Greek mythological drama to life with stampeding horses, thunderbolts and a moving apotheosis. This is Volume 1 of 3 devoted to the five Saint-Saëns Symphonies.

Malmö SymfoniOrkester
Marc Soustrot, conductor

The Malmö Symphony Orchestra (MSO)
gives concerts every week, demonstrating its skill in broad and multifaceted programmes. MSO proudly carries forward the traditions of the symphonic repertoire, and also strives to bring it forward into the future. Several recordings have gained international accolades, including first prize at the Cannes Classical Award and the annual Diapason d’Or awards. Their recording of Berwald’s symphonies, conducted by Sixten Ehrling, was nominated for one of the record industry’s most prestigious prizes, the Gramophone Award. Releases on Naxos of music by the American composer Charles Ives have won great acclaim and were named Editor’s Choice/Recording of the month by Gramophone in October 2008. The Naxos recordings of Franz Schmidtʼs Symphonies with former principal conductor Vassily Sinaisky have been equally acknowledged and acclaimed in Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine. Sinaisky has been honorary conductor of the MSO since 2011. Two Naxos Grieg recordings received brilliant reviews in The New York Times. In August 2013 the MSO and Marc Soustrot, who has been the orchestra’s principal conductor since the 2011/2012 season, began recording the complete works of Camille Saint-Saëns for Naxos.

Marc Soustrot
is considered a specialist in French orchestral music. Formerly the principal conductor and artistic director of the Orchestre Philharmonique des Pays de la Loire, the Beethoven Orchester, Bonn, and Het Brabants Orkest, Eindhoven, he is principal conductor of the Malmö Symphony Orchestra and designated principal conductor of the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra. Soustrot has conducted the Munich Philharmonic, the Bamberg Symphony, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, the Filharmonie Antwerpen, the Residentie Orkest Den Haag and the Philharmonic Orchestras of Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki, Luxembourg, Barcelona and Tokyo. He has worked at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, the Teatro Real Madrid, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, La Monnaie de Munt, Brussels, The Royal Danish Opera, Copenhagen and the Norwegian National Opera, Oslo. Marc Soustrot was honoured with the title Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 2008.

Booklet for Saint-Saëns: Symphonies, Vol. 1