Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns was something of an anomaly among French composers of the nineteenth century in that he wrote in virtually all genres, including opera, symphonies, concertos, songs, sacred and secular choral music, solo piano, and chamber music. He was generally not a pioneer, though he did help to revive some earlier and largely forgotten dance forms, like the bourée and gavotte. He was a conservative who wrote many popular scores scattered throughout the various genres: the Piano Concerto No. 2, Symphony No. 3 ("Organ"), the symphonic poem Danse macabre, the opera Samson et Dalila, and probably his most widely performed work, The Carnival of The Animals. While he remained a composer closely tied to tradition and traditional forms in his later years, he did develop a more arid style, less colorful and, in the end, less appealing. He was also a poet and playwright of some distinction.
Saint-Saëns was born in Paris on October 9, 1835. He was one of the most precocious musicians ever, beginning piano lessons with his aunt at two-and-a-half and composing his first work at three. At age seven he studied composition with Pierre Maledin. When he was ten, he gave a concert that included Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto, Mozart's B flat Concerto, K. 460, along with works by Bach, Handel, and Hummel. In his academic studies, he displayed the same genius, learning languages and advanced mathematics with ease and celerity. He would also develop keen, lifelong interests in geology and astronomy.
In 1848, he entered the Paris Conservatory and studied organ and composition, the latter with Halévy. By his early twenties, following the composition of two symphonies, he had won the admiration and support of Berlioz, Liszt, Gounod, Rossini, and other notable figures. From 1853 to 1876, he held church organist posts; he also taught at the École Niedermeyer (1861-1865). He composed much throughout his early years, turning out the 1853 Symphony in F ("Urbs Roma"), a Mass (1855) and several concertos, including the popular second, for piano (1868).
In 1875, Saint-Saëns married the 19-year-old Marie Truffot, bringing on perhaps the saddest chapter in his life. The union produced two children who died within six weeks of each other, one from a four-story fall. The marriage ended in 1881. Oddly, this dark period in his life produced some of his most popular works, including Danse macabre (1875) and Samson et Dalila (1878). After the tragic events of his marriage, Saint-Saëns developed a fondness for Fauré and his family, acting as a second father to Fauré's children.
But he also remained very close to his mother, who had opposed his marriage. When she died in 1888, the composer fell into a deep depression, even contemplating suicide for a time. He did much travel in the years that followed and developed an interest in Algeria and Egypt, which eventually inspired him to write Africa (1891) and his Piano Concerto No. 5, the "Egyptian". He also turned out works unrelated to exotic places, such as his popular and most enduring serious composition, the Symphony No. 3.
Curiously, after 1890, Saint-Saëns' music was regarded with some condescension in his homeland, while in England and the United States he was hailed as France's greatest living composer well into the twentieth century. Saint-Saëns experienced an especially triumphant concert tour when he visited the U.S. in 1915. In the last two decades of his life, he remained attached to his dogs and was largely a loner. He died in Algeria on December 16, 1921.
© TiVo
Artistas similares
-
Piano SoundScapes,Vol.13
Clásica - Editado por Blue Pie Records el 9/03/2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Der Karneval der Tiere (Ein musikalisches Märchen für Kinder)
Camille Saint-Saëns, Jürgen Fritsche
Humour/Spoken Word - Editado por BÄNG Management & Verlag el 19/06/2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clásicos del Milenio. Carnaval de los Animales Sinfonía No. 3
Münchner Symphonie-Orchester, Süddeustche Phiharmonie
Clásica - Editado por Piros - Send el 13/03/2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Autumnal Saint-Saëns
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 10/10/2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concerto for Violin & Orchestra No1 Op.20 in A
Música concertante - Editado por Common Wealth el 18/06/2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: La muse et le poète, Op. 132
Clásica - Editado por American Symphony Orchestra el 13/09/2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live à la Française
Simon Crawford-Phillips, Fredrik Ekdahl, Emmanuel Laville
Clásica - Editado por Naxos Sweden - Daphne el 28/08/2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Violin Best
Clásica - Editado por Paradise Classical el 16/06/2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Classical Music To relax and Sleep
Clásica - Editado por Music Ware el 6/01/2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Baby Classical Music
Clásica - Editado por Music Ware el 22/04/2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Le Carnaval des Animaux (Carnival of the Animals), R. 125: 13. Le Cygne (Arr. for Piano)
Camille Saint-Saëns, German Kitkin
Clásica - Editado por Stereo Arts Classics el 19/04/2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Swan (The Carnival of the Animals) Arr. for Felt Piano
Clásica - Editado por Varmatt Music el 17/06/2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Concerto For Cello and Orchestra
Clásica - Editado por Pipeline Music el 1/12/2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Menuhin: French Music For Violin and Piano
Clásica - Editado por Pipeline Music el 1/12/2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Andante Poco Rubato, Op. 3: No. 2
Clásica - Editado por Common Wealth el 17/12/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live à la Française
Clásica - Editado por Daphne Records el 28/08/2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Peter und der Wolf / Karneval der Tiere
Camille Saint-Saëns, Sergei Prokofiev, Ferdinand Roth
Humour/Spoken Word - Editado por 123CLASSIC el 18/08/2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Relaxing Classical Music
Clásica - Editado por Classic Records el 16/02/2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -