Camille saint-saens carnival of the animals finale
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About this Piece
Camille Saint-Saëns was a French composer of the Romantic era who, at 3 years old, was writing his first pieces on the piano. At 7, he was a celebrated concert organist, and by 10, he could play any of Beethoven’s 32 sonatas from memory at a moment’s notice. Over the course of his prolific and nearly 80-year career, Saint-Saëns would become one of classical music history’s most gifted yet underrated minds—on top of being an enthusiastic poet, playwright, philosopher, astronomer, animal rights activist, travel writer, and acoustics expert in his spare time. For in his mind, “A taste of the public for art, good or simple—it makes no difference, it is an infinitely precious guide for the artist. Whether he is a genius or talent, following this taste, he will be able to create good works.” And that he did, retaining a childlike curiosity and sense of wonder his entire life.
While visiting in a small Austrian village in 1886, Saint-Saëns came up with the idea to amuse
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The Carnival of the Animals
1886 musical suite by Camille Saint-Saëns
This article is about Saint-Saëns's 1886 suite. For Christopher Wheeldon's 2003 ballet to Saint-Saëns's music, see Carnival of the Animals (ballet).
The Carnival of the Animals (French: Le Carnaval des animaux) is a humorous musical suite of 14 movements, including "The Swan", by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. About 25 minutes in duration, it was written for private performance by two pianos and chamber ensemble; Saint-Saëns prohibited public performance of the work during his lifetime, feeling that its frivolity would damage his standing as a serious composer. The suite was published in 1922, the year after his death. A public performance in the same year was greeted with enthusiasm, and it has remained among his most popular. It is less frequently performed with a full orchestral complement of strings.
History
[edit]Following a disastrous concert tour of Germany in 1885–86, Saint-Sa
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The Carnival of the Animals: a guide to Saint-Saëns’ humorous musical masterpiece
24 February 2022, 18:10 | Updated: 24 February 2022, 21:22
Lions, swans, donkeys and… pianists? Here are all 14 movements of The Carnival of the Animals, and what they’re about.
The French composer Camille Saint-Saëns took han själv quite seriously. So seriously, in fact, that he banned one of his best-known pieces from being performed in public until after he had died, in case it damaged his reputation as a composer of “serious” music.
Thankfully, the wishes set out in his will were granted, and The Carnival of the Animalswas published in 1922, a year after his death, and received its public world premiere on 25 February that year.
The Carnival of the Animals is a comedic musical suite, comprised of kvartet short movements, that was written for a bit of light relief after the composer returned from a fairly disastrous concert tour.
Originally written in 1886, the del av helhet is now one of the wor