Camille Saint-Saëns

Romanticism

He joined Romantic spirit with classical French clarity.

💡 Did you know? Saint-Saëns was himself a prodigy: at ten he played Beethoven sonatas by heart in public and offered to encore any one requested.

Paris

At ten the prodigy made his concert debut: offering all 32 Beethoven sonatas from memory as an encore.

💡 Did you know? Saint-Saëns was a polymath: besides music he pursued astronomy, archaeology, mathematics and wrote poetry.

The Carnival of the Animals

Written as a private joke in 1886: he banned its publication in his lifetime, fearing for his serious reputation.

💡 Did you know? Saint-Saëns wrote „The Carnival of the Animals“ purely for fun for friends: fearing for his serious reputation, he banned almost all performances in his lifetime.

The Swan

As the ballet solo 'The Dying Swan' it was made world-famous by the dancer Anna Pavlova.

💡 Did you know? „The Swan“ was the only piece from „The Carnival of the Animals“ Saint-Saëns allowed to be published in his lifetime: today his best-known.

La Madeleine

Liszt called him the greatest organist in the world.

💡 Did you know? For 20 years Saint-Saëns was organist at the Paris church La Madeleine: Franz Liszt called him the greatest organist in the world.

Organ Symphony

Premiered in 1886 and dedicated to Liszt's memory; its finale even became a pop song ('If I Had Words').

💡 Did you know? In his 3rd Symphony Saint-Saëns used a mighty church organ: hence the nickname „Organ Symphony“.

Samson and Delilah

Premiered in Weimar in 1877: Liszt had championed it when Paris hesitated.

💡 Did you know? „Samson et Dalila“ had a hard start: an opera on a biblical story was deemed improper in France then; only Liszt helped it to its premiere.

Danse macabre

The xylophone rattles the bones: a Halloween classic of the concert hall.

💡 Did you know? In the „Danse macabre“, Death tunes his fiddle at midnight and makes the skeletons dance until the cockerel announces morning.

at two

Berlioz on the polymath: 'He knows everything; all he lacks is inexperience.'

💡 Did you know? On the side he pursued astronomy, archaeology and botany, and wrote poetry.

Société Nationale de Musique

Its motto was 'Ars gallica': it brought French instrumental music to a new flowering.

💡 Did you know? After the 1871 defeat by Germany, Saint-Saëns founded the „Société Nationale de Musique“ to promote a distinct French music.

film (film music)

For 'L'assassinat du duc de Guise': a milestone in the history of film music.

💡 Did you know? In 1908 Saint-Saëns was one of the very first noted composers to write music for a film: a pioneer of film scoring.

Algiers

Aged 86: he had still given concerts that same year, 75 years after his debut.

💡 Did you know? The travel-loving Saint-Saëns died in 1921 on one of his beloved journeys: in Algiers, North Africa.

Camille Saint-Saëns

Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Romantic composer and polymath, famous for „The Carnival of the Animals“ and the „Organ Symphony“.

💡 Did you know? He banned almost all performances of „The Carnival of the Animals“ in his lifetime: fearing the light work might harm his serious reputation.

The Swan (Carnival of the Animals)

A cello sings over rippling piano: the gliding swan from Saint-Saëns's ‘Carnival of the Animals’.

💡 Did you know? Saint-Saëns banned performances of the whole work in his lifetime: only ‘The Swan’ was allowed.