Of the five symphonies written by CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS, two of which were disclaimed by the author in consideration of their imperfections, the last one – featuring an organ – appears under number three in his numeration.  Commissioned by the London Philharmonic Society represented by its Chairman Francesco it premiered with his assistance on 19 May 1886, conducted by the author. That same evening he also performed as a soloist in Beethoven’s Fourth Concerto, conducted by Sir Arthur Sullivan.

The symphony was dedicated to Ferenc Liszt, who died about two months after the premiere. More than once Saint-Saëns had taken opportunity to express his reverence for Liszt, on whose professional support he was always able to rely. For example, the premiere of his opera Samson and Delilah in Weimar, Saint-Saëns owed solely to the assistance and unreserved support of Liszt. There are apparent similarities with Liszt’s compositional technique, structure of the cycle and thematics. The symphony is built on two motifs, stated at the very outset – by a solo oboe and the strings in pianissimo, which, as the music progresses, undergo extraordinarily great number of transformations.  Including the organ at the end of each of the two movements, Saint-Saëns evokes different imagery: from instilling religious humility (at the end of the first movement) to the triumph and glorification of the finale. The composer himself described the Symphony in the first programme annotation to it as being “divided into parts after the manner of Saint-Saëns Fourth Piano Concerto and the Sonata for Violin and Piano. Nevertheless, it includes practically the traditional four movements”. In his opinion, the Symphony “benefits from the progress of modern orchestration”.

Soon after the premiere of the composer’s Third Symphony, Saint-Saëns was forced to resign from the position of president of the National Music Association, whose founder he was, due to the state of isolation in which he was placed by his French colleagues, the competitive and antagonisitic relations with Vincent d’Indy, César Franck and his school. Nevertheless, the symphony also had a successful premiere in Paris in 1887.

Subsequently, Saint-Saëns did not return to this genre, believing that has exhausted his word in it.  “I have given all that I could ever give. What I have done, I shall never do again.” He continued to compose in the opera genre and in concert-instrumental music.