Bärenreiter begins an edition of the works of Camille Saint-Saëns–Bärenreiter is embarking on a major new project, the publication of a historical-critical edition of the complete instrumental works of the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921). The 36 volumes will include all the symphonic and concert works, chamber music, and pieces for keyboard instruments. Editorial director is Michael Stegemann, one of the leading experts on French music.
The compositional œuvre that Camille Saint-Saëns created over his long life encompasses operas and stage music, oratorios and smaller church works, cantatas, secular choral works, and songs, as well as around 325 instrumental works. These include The Carnival of the Animals, the Third symphony, known as the “Organ Symphony”, the symphonic poem “Danse macabre”, as well as many of the concertos and concert pieces for piano, violin, and cello, and chamber music that belongs to the repertoire of orchestras, ensembles, and soloists all over the world. All of these confirm Saint-Saëns’ reputation as one of the greatest composers of the 19th and early 20th century.
The objective of the scholarly edition “Camille Saint-Saëns: Œuvres instrumentales complètes” is to identify, examine, and evaluate all the primary and secondary sources created during the composer’s lifetime, in order to produce an authoritative music text based on current philological principles and models. The first volume of the edition contains the 3rd Symphony in C minor op. 78 (BA 10303), better known as the “Organ Symphony” – one of the French composer’s best-known works.
The publication is marked by a gala concert. The Gürzenich-Orchester Cologne under the baton of François-Xavier Roth performs the “Organ Symphony” on 11, 12, and 13 December in the Philharmonie Cologne. The organ part is played by Daniel Roth, the father of the conductor.
Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3, op. 78. Edited by Michael Stegemann. Œuvres instrumentales complètes I.3. Bärenreiter-Verlag 2016. BA 10303. € 365.00.
