Symphony no. 3 "Organ" in C minor, op. 78

Saint-Saëns composed his Third Symphony in 1886, calling it a ‘Symphony with Organ’ rather than a symphony for organ. Piano — at times for two and four hands — and organ are woven into the orchestral fabric, while thematic transformations link the work across its two large parts. The score was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society in England and first performed on 19 May 1886 at St James’s Hall, conducted by the composer. Saint-Saëns had intended to dedicate it to his friend Franz Liszt; after Liszt’s death that summer, the dedication became ‘In memory of Franz Liszt’. The composer later conducted the French premiere in January 1887. For Saint-Saëns, this was a summation: he believed he had given the work everything of which he was capable.