Widor Symphony No.1

[Gauk]

I re-acquainted myself last night with the 3rd symphony. What a thrilling piece it really is! The references to Saint-Saens's 3rd are to some extent superficial:

• Both 3rd symphonies
• Both for orchestra with organ
• Both distill the classical four movements into a two-movement structure
• Both begin quietly and end triumphantly

But musically, the real influence is Wagner, especially in the finale.

What fascinates me is how advanced and modern the writing is, particularly in the scherzo, which sounds like something you might get from a Czech symphonist, post-Janacek, maybe circa 1950s. And then the preparation for the organ entry at the start of the finale has one on the edge of one's seat. It would be great to hear this in the concert hall. I imagine it would raise the roof at the end of a Proms concert.

[Alan Howe]

The references to Saint-Saens's 3rd are to some extent superficial...What fascinates me is how advanced and modern the writing is, particularly in the scherzo, which sounds like something you might get from a Czech symphonist, post-Janacek, maybe circa 1950s.

Saint-Saëns' 3rd Symphony is clearly the model for Widor 3, even if Widor is his own man, stylistically speaking. As for the idiom of the scherzo, it seems to me very much of its time (1890s). It's no more advanced than, say, Dukas, Debussy, Strauss, Suk or Mahler. What is remarkable is that Widor is really a composer of an earlier generation than the aforementioned.

[dmitterd]

In the interests of answering questions raised, Widor's Symphonie No. 1 is available on disc for the first time: http://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=CDLX7315
Cheers,
Daniel

[jdperdrix]

Saint-Saëns' 3rd Symphony is clearly the model for Widor 3, even if Widor is his own man, stylistically speaking. As for the idiom of the scherzo, it seems to me very much of its time (1890s).

Did anybody notice the great similarity of n. 3 scherzo and the scherzo of Vierne's symphony (1907)? Given the relations between the composers, this is not coincidental.

[Alan Howe]

In the interests of answering questions raised, Widor's Symphonie No. 1 is available on disc for the first time: http://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=CDLX7315

Thanks for the reminder. We discussed the symphony in the course of considering Widor's VC, also on the CD:
http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,5372.0.html