Camille Saint-Saëns
French Romantic polymath equally at home in symphony, concerto and opera
1835
1921
French
Romantic
Carnival of the Animals, Organ Symphony, Danse Macabre
Early life
Camille Saint-Saëns was born on 9 October 1835 in Paris. A prodigy of extraordinary precocity, he began piano lessons at the age of two and a half, gave his first public recital at ten — reportedly offering to play any of Beethoven's thirty-two piano sonatas from memory as an encore — and entered the Paris Conservatoire at thirteen. There he studied organ with François Benoist and composition with Fromental Halévy. By his early twenties he had secured the prestigious post of organist at the Madeleine, a position he held for twenty years, and was recognised by Liszt as one of the finest organists in the world.
Career and major works
Saint-Saëns was astonishingly prolific and versatile. His output encompasses five symphonies, five piano concertos, three violin concertos, two cello concertos, thirteen operas, and a vast quantity of chamber, choral, and sacred music. Among his most enduring works are the Symphony No. 3 in C minor 'Organ Symphony' (1886), with its famous organ entry in the finale; the orchestral suite Carnival of the Animals (1886), which he suppressed during his lifetime, fearing it would harm his serious reputation; the tone poem Danse macabre (1874); the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso for violin and orchestra (1863); and the opera Samson et Dalila (1877), the only one of his operas to hold the stage consistently.
Musical style and legacy
Saint-Saëns's music is characterised by classical clarity of form, elegant craftsmanship, and brilliance of orchestration. He was a champion of French musical traditions at a time when Wagnerian influence threatened to overwhelm them, and he played a pivotal role in founding the Société Nationale de Musique in 1871, which promoted new French compositions. Beyond music, he published poetry, wrote on philosophy and astronomy, and was an early advocate for historically informed performance of Baroque music. He died in Algiers on 16 December 1921, one of the most honoured musicians of the Third Republic.