Camille Saint-Saëns: Works for Piano, Vol. 2

Featuring

Antony Gray
Camille Saint-Saëns

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Saint-Saëns had wide-ranging musical interests, as shown by his transcriptions of 16th-century lute pieces by Luis Milan and his involvement in editing unfashionable early French music.

Composition History

Saint-Saëns' 'douze transcriptions' of works by J.S. Bach are divided into two sets, with the first set dedicated to his students, including Gabriel Fauré, and the second to distinguished pianist Wilhelmine Szarvady.

Compositional Technique

Saint-Saëns' transcription of Berlioz's 'Chant de la fête de Pâques' is so skillful that it creates the impression of being an original piano work, despite being faithful to the original choral and orchestral score.

Composition History

A large portion of Saint-Saëns' output consists of arrangements, transcriptions, and concert paraphrases of works by other composers, some possibly made to raise the profiles of composers he admired.

Critical Reception

After his death, Saint-Saëns was seen as anachronistic in musical circles, leading to a neglect of many of his works, with even his Organ Symphony receiving a cold review in 1935.

Composer Biography

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) was a "Renaissance Man" who excelled as a composer, pianist, organist, and conductor, and also wrote poetry, plays, and philosophy, and took an active interest in various sciences.

Performer Biography

Antony Gray, the pianist on this recording, is based in London and has a career encompassing solo and chamber music performances, as well as regular recordings for CD and radio.