Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 1 is considered the first piano concerto by a major French composer.
Performer Biography
Marc Soustrot, the conductor, is considered a specialist in French orchestral music and was awarded the title Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 2008.
Composer Biography
Camille Saint-Saëns was a child prodigy who made his concert debut at age ten, offering to play any of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas as an encore.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Saint-Saëns championed progressive figures like Wagner and Liszt in his youth but later adopted a conservative approach, reacting against innovators like Debussy and Stravinsky.
Compositional Technique
Saint-Saëns' five piano concertos span almost four decades and represent an important phase in the evolution of the French piano concerto.
Performer Biography
Romain Descharmes, the pianist on this recording, is a winner of the Dublin Competition and a professor at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional in Paris.
Recording & Production
The Malmö Symphony Orchestra and conductor Marc Soustrot began recording the complete works of Camille Saint-Saëns for Naxos in August 2013.
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