Symphony no. 3 in B flat minor op. 11

Magnard began this symphony in 1895 and completed it in 1896, the year he married Julia Creton and was appointed Professor of Counterpoint at the Schola Cantorum. He conducted its premiere on 14 May 1899 in Paris. This concert, devoted exclusively to his music, also included the Symphony No. 2, the Ouverture, op. 10, the Chant funèbre and his Poèmes pour voix et orchestre. The critics praised this new work as a success. Comparing the scherzos of the two symphonies, both entitled Danses, Dukas remarked that “it is again in the third that this penchant [for rhythm] emerges in the most surprising of ways and with the lightest of touches. There are contrasts in tempo and interruptions in direction here which are utterly charming in effect”. However, dissatisfied with the work, the composer began revising it in 1902. Conducted by Camille Chevillard, the new version enjoyed a resounding success at the Concerts Lamoureux in 1904. This is hardly surprising since Magnard had managed to achieve a balance between his customary abundance of ideas and a new mastery of the formal trajectory and agogic accents. The numerous changes in tempo, even in metre (with a thematic element in 5/4 in the Danses), are elegantly expressed and the cyclic principle eschews the predictable. The language is shaded by original modal touches, and rustic inflections in the second movement. By overlaying different tempi, Magnard manages to preserve the rhythmic energy while creating the impression of a more relaxed mood: this is particularly evident in the Final, when the chorale of the Introduction returns.