About this episode
Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Camille Saint-Saëns, highlighting his career, relationships, and significant works.
Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Camille Saint‑Saëns, a composer whose career was shaped as much by personality and circumstance as by precocious talent. Raised in Paris by strong‑minded women who recognised his gifts early, Saint‑Saëns grew into a formidable pianist and an alert observer of the musical world around him. He moved easily through the city’s salons, where reputations were made, ideas exchanged, and music absorbed as a social force as much as an art. Alongside influential relationships, including a lasting creative bond with Gabriel Fauré, Saint‑Saëns was drawn into a life increasingly shaped by travel. Music featured includes: Danse macabre, Op. 40 Calme des nuits (Deux Chœurs, Op. 68 No. 1) Violin Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 75 Oratorio de Noël, Op. 12 (Movements 1–4) Symphony No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 2 Tarantelle in A minor, Op. 6 Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 14 Violin Concerto No. 1 in A major, Op. 20 Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22 Le timbre d’argent (extract) Marche héroïque, Op. 34 La jeunesse d’Hercule, Op. 50 A Voice by the Cedar Tree Romance in C major, Op. 48 Romance, Op. 36 Le Déluge: Prelude Samson et Dalila: “Mon cœur s’ouvre à…
People in this episode
Host: Donald Macleod
Topics covered
- Camille Saint-Saëns
- music history
- French composers
- piano music
- musical relationships
- travel in music
Keywords
- Camille Saint-Saëns
- music
- piano
- French composers
- Danse macabre
- Gabriel Fauré
- oratorio
- symphony
- concerto
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Danse macabre, Op. 40, Calme des nuits (Deux Chœurs, Op. 68 No. 1), Violin Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 75, Oratorio de Noël, Op. 12 (Movements 1–4), Symphony No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 2, Tarantelle in A minor, Op. 6, Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 14, Violin Concerto No. 1 in A major, Op. 20, Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22, Le timbre d’argent (extract)
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