Saint-Saëns wrote his Violin Concerto No. 1 in A major, Op. 20, for the renowned 15-year-old virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate, who requested a violin concerto in 1859.
Composer Biography
Saint-Saëns' organ improvisations were so renowned that figures like Franz Liszt, Clara Schumann, Pablo de Sarasate, and Anton Rubinstein journeyed to hear him.
Cultural Impact
The Introduction and Rondo capriccioso in A minor, Op. 28, was popular for decades because its length conveniently fit onto 78 rpm gramophone records, but its popularity waned with the advent of LPs.
Compositional Technique
Saint-Saëns' Violin Concerto No. 1 is formally concentrated, with its three movements played without a break, creating the impression of a single-movement work.
Composer Biography
Camille Saint-Saëns, born in 1835, was a child prodigy who won a first prize for organ playing at 16 and became an organist and sacred music teacher at 18.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Saint-Saëns had a notable interest in exotic music, a characteristic often underestimated in his work.
Performer Biography
Jean-Jacques Kantorow, the violinist and conductor on this album, has won about ten international prizes, including first prizes at the Carl Flesch, Geneva, and Paganini competitions.
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Saint-Saëns: Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso; Havanaise / Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy / Chausson: Poème / Ravel: Tzigane
