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.
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Saint-Saëns : Complete Violin Concertos
Andrew Wan, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Kent Nagano
Musica concertante - Pubblicato da Groupe Analekta, Inc il 23 ott 2015
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Saint-Saëns - Liszt - Saariaho - Moussa (Deluxe Edition)
Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Kent Nagano, Olivier Latry
Classica - Pubblicato da Groupe Analekta, Inc il 23 ott 2015
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Saint-Saëns: The Carnival of Animals (Digitally Remastered)
South German Philharmonic Orchestra, Hanspeter Gmur
Classica - Pubblicato da EMG Classical il 9 dic 2014
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Symphony No. 3 in C-Major, op. 78 (Organ Symphony)
Classica - Pubblicato da Twistar Music il 8 nov 2022
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Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, "Organ", Op. 78
Classica - Pubblicato da American Symphony Orchestra il 18 set 2012
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The Welte-Mignon Mystery, Vol. 9
Classica - Pubblicato da TACET Musikproduktion il 4 gen 2008
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Saint-Saëns & Tchaikovsky
Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Stéphane Tétreault
Classica - Pubblicato da Analekta il 25 set 2012
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Carnival of the Animals
Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra
Classica - Pubblicato da Cobra Entertainment LLC il 12 mar 2013
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Halloween Music
Camille Saint-Saëns, Johannes Brahms
Classica - Pubblicato da UME - Global Clearing House il 27 ott 2021
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Saint-Saëns: Classical Creations
Classica - Pubblicato da UME - Global Clearing House il 14 set 2022
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French Chamber Music for Woodwinds, Volume One: Debussy and Saint-Saëns
Musica da camera - Pubblicato da Signum-Cala il 26 apr 2019
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Soprano Love Arias: 50 Must-Have Opera Classics
Opera - Pubblicato da Cobra Entertainment LLC il 28 lug 2017
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Saint-Saëns: Le Carnaval des animaux / Poulenc: Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra
Cinda Goold Redman, Lena Vozheiko-Wheaton
Classica - Pubblicato da SnailWorx il 29 gen 2016
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Halloween Classical
Igor Stravinsky, Hector Berlioz, Camille Saint-Saëns
Classica - Pubblicato da UME - Global Clearing House il 19 ott 2020
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Classical Best Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns, Classical Music: 50 of the Best
Classica - Pubblicato da Armasi il 22 ago 2020
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Camille Saint-Saëns - Sonata for Bassoon & Piano in G Major Op.168 / Sonate für Fagott & Klavier Opus 168 / Sonate pour basson en sol majeur
Classica - Pubblicato da K&K Verlagsanstalt il 15 gen 2011
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Saint-Saëns
Classica - Pubblicato da Cobra Entertainment LLC il 24 dic 2013
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Saint-Saëns, Sinfonía No. 3
Nürnberg Symphoniker, Nemzeti Filharmonikus Zenekar, Houston Symphony Orchestra
Classica - Pubblicato da JamadaClassics il 5 nov 2015
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Saint-Saëns: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A Minor, Op. 28 (2024 Remaster)
Latvian State Symphony Orchestra, Vassilly Sinaisky, Vladis Zarin
Classica - Pubblicato da EMG Classical il 9 dic 2014
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Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 103
Classica - Pubblicato da American Symphony Orchestra il 13 set 2012
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A World of Classical: France
Classica - Pubblicato da UME - Global Clearing House il 21 ott 2023
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