The glories of Camille Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3 composed in 1886 are not suggested by the composer's first two official works in the form, the Symphony No. 1 which dates from 1853, and Symphony No. 2 written in 1859. Two other early symphonies also survive, a Symphony in A written in 1850, and the Symphony in F called "Urbs Romana" which was composed in 1856. All of these show influence of Mendelssohn and Schumann but display none of the composer's later style and wealth of melody. Not much happens in these first two symphonies, and in spite of the Frankfurt orchestra's fine playing and Inbal's assured leadership, these are not memorable listening experiences. The early Mozart symphonies are Volume III in Pentatone's series offering stylish performances by Sir Neville and his band. Both of these SACDs are in Pentatone's RQR series, recordings originally made in four channels in 1973 (Mozart) and 1975 (Saint-Saëns), and boast the usual superb surround sound heard on all of these issues.

Olivier Latry's Franck SACD is his fourth for DGG. Of particular interest is his recording of Messiaen's complete works for organ. Latry's SACD called Midnight at Notre-Dame, was reviewed on this site. The latter included a number of inappropriate transcriptions of orchestral works which to me just didn't work. This new SACD is devoted to works written by a master of the instrument, César Franck, featuring the three massive chorales. Latry's credentials are impressive and he gives masterful readings of these powerful scores. Recorded in November/December 2003, the sound is massive with thundering, sometimes blurred low frequencies.

R.E.B. (September 2005)

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