Born: Oct 9, 1835; France
Died: Dec 16, 1921; Algeria
Period: Romantic
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 scatteredRead more 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. Read less
Label: Sony
Catalog: 88985395042
Release Date: 06/02/2017
Number of Discs: 9
Composer:
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Ludwig van Beethoven,
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco,
Ernest Chausson
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Performer:
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Bruce Prince-Joseph,
Brooks Smith
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Seiji Ozawa,
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Label: Pentatone
Catalog: 5186536
Release Date: 09/09/2016
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Franz Waxman,
Pablo de Sarasate,
Ralph Vaughan Williams,
Camille Saint-Saëns
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Catalog: 513074
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Ton Koopman,
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Label: Warner Classics
Catalog: 552439
Release Date: 09/25/2015
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Label: Melodiya
Catalog: 1002300
Release Date: 09/11/2015
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Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalog: 002298802
Release Date: 05/26/2015
Number of Discs: 25
Composer:
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Igor Stravinsky,
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Performer:
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Pinchas Zukerman,
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Conductor:
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Label: Decca
Catalog: 002217700
Release Date: 01/06/2015
Number of Discs: 20
Composer:
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,
Felix Mendelssohn,
Jean Sibelius,
Fritz Kreisler
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Performer:
Kyung-Wha Chung,
Phillip Moll,
Radu Lupu,
Myung-Wha Chung
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Conductor:
Charles Dutoit,
André Previn,
Rudolf Kempe,
Sir Georg Solti
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Orchestra/Ensemble:
Montreal Symphony Orchestra,
London Symphony Orchestra,
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
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Label: Warner Classics
Catalog: 631514
Release Date: 06/10/2014
Number of Discs: 20
Composer:
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Felix Mendelssohn,
Johannes Brahms
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Performer:
Itamar Golan,
Maxim Vengerov,
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Daniel Barenboim
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Conductor:
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Mstislav Rostropovich,
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Orchestra/Ensemble:
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Label: Zig Zag
Catalog: 335
Release Date: 01/28/2014
Number of Discs: 3
Composer:
Camille Saint-Saëns
Performer:
Liya Petrova,
Jolente de Maeyer,
Tatiana Samouil,
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Conductor:
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Label: Analekta
Catalog: 29768
Release Date: 03/08/2011
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Antonín Dvorák,
Fritz Kreisler,
Camille Saint-Saëns,
Jules Massenet
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Performer:
James Ehnes,
Eduard Laurel,
Luc Beauséjour
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Label: Rca Victor Gold Seal
Catalog: 61890
Release Date: 05/12/2010
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Claude Debussy,
Camille Saint-Saëns,
Alexander Scriabin,
Franz Liszt
Performer:
Leonid Kogan,
Roger Voisin
Conductor:
Pierre Monteux
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Label: Philips Silverline Classics
Catalog: 420887
Release Date: 04/08/2010
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Camille Saint-Saëns,
Maurice Ravel
Performer:
Henryk Szeryng
Conductor:
Edouard Van Remoortel
Orchestra/Ensemble:
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Label: Audite
Catalog: 95607
Release Date: 09/08/2009
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,
Pablo de Sarasate,
Camille Saint-Saëns,
William Kroll
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Performer:
Michael Rabin,
Lothar Broddack
Conductor:
Thomas Schippers
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Berlin RIAS Symphony Orchestra
Label: Warner Classics
Catalog: 17312
Release Date: 10/28/2008
Number of Discs: 6
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César Franck,
Niccolò Paganini,
Ludwig van Beethoven,
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Jascha Heifetz,
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Conductor:
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Label: Rca Silver Seal
Catalog: 61210
Release Date: 08/21/2007
Number of Discs: 1
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Pablo de Sarasate,
Henri Wieniawski,
Camille Saint-Saëns,
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Sir Malcolm Sargent,
Walter Hendl
Orchestra/Ensemble:
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Label: Decca
Catalog: 000895302
Release Date: 06/12/2007
Number of Discs: 5
Composer:
Felix Mendelssohn,
Max Bruch,
Camille Saint-Saëns,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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Performer:
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Henryk Szeryng,
David Oistrakh,
Lev Oborin
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Conductor:
Piero Gamba,
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Label: Warner Classics
Catalog: 63780
Release Date: 04/24/2007
Number of Discs: 11
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Franz Waxman,
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,
Jean Sibelius,
Dmitri Shostakovich
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Performer:
Maxim Vengerov,
Alexander Markovich,
Revital Chachamov,
Itamar Golan
Conductor:
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Claudio Abbado,
Daniel Barenboim,
Mstislav Rostropovich
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Orchestra/Ensemble:
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Chicago Symphony Orchestra
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Label: Apr (Appian)
Catalog: 6003
Release Date: 09/12/2006
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Camille Saint-Saëns,
Manuel de Falla,
Enrique Granados,
Maria Theresia Paradis
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Performer:
George De Lausnay,
Jacques Thibaud,
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Alfred Cortot
Conductor:
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Orchestra/Ensemble:
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Label: Marston
Catalog: 52054
Release Date: 05/12/2006
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Edvard Grieg,
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