Saint-Saëns, Camille

One of the most interesting and fruitful composers French composers, Saint-Saëns was also a known pianist and organist. Saint-Saëns learned to play the organ from Gounod, and wrote his first symphony when he was 16 years old. He was, for nearly twenty years, organist at the Madeleine in Paris and one of the greatest improvisers and a virtuoso player. His acquaintance with Liszt helped promote his career and Saint-Saëns composed symphonic poems as well as the Piano Concerti no. 2 in G minor, and No. 4 in C minor.

Saint-Saëns was involved in composing in every existent form, ensemble and need, from symphonies (such as his Symphony No. 3, "Organ"), chamber music, piano music, to concertos - Violin Concertos and the Concerto for Cello No. 1. His output was amazing, and he even wrote essays on philosophy and literature. He defended Romantic music, however, and searched for a unique expression for French music, and founded "The National Music Association".

He wrote quite a lot of programme music, including the "Macabre Dance" ("Danse macabre"), and the better-known "The Carnival of the Animals" ("Le carnaval des animaux"), in which he described different animals by sounds (he forbade the piece's performance in his life, and indeed it was only played after his death).

The opera "Samson and Delilah" ("Samson et Dalila") was his only successful opera, and it is considered one of the important works in opera history.

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