Saint-Saëns

Saint-Saëns was a virtuoso pianist and organist whose music ranges across concertos, symphonies, chamber works and opera. One of his best-known works was also one he tried to keep out of public view: he withheld almost all of The Carnival of the Animals, fearing that its jokes would damage his serious reputation. He made one exception for Le cygne, originally scored for cello and two pianos, which soon began a life of its own through countless arrangements.