Saint-Saens: Piano Trios Nos. 1 and 2

Featuring

Rebecca Hirsch
Caroline Dearnley
John Lenehan
Joachim Trio
Camille Saint-Saëns

Did you know?

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Historical Context

Saint-Saëns' career spanned from the era of Mendelssohn to beyond the death of Debussy, covering the second half of the 19th century and the first two decades of the 20th.

Composer Biography

Saint-Saëns taught briefly at the École Niedermeyer, where Gabriel Fauré, a future close friend, was one of his pupils.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Saint-Saëns was instrumental in founding the Société Nationale de Musique in 1871, which aimed to promote French music.

Composer Biography

By the age of ten, Saint-Saëns had memorized all of Beethoven's piano sonatas.

Composer Biography

Camille Saint-Saëns, like Mozart and Mendelssohn, was a musical prodigy, beginning piano lessons at two and a half years old.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Saint-Saëns advocated for 'art for art's sake,' a courageous stance during a time when music was often expected to serve philosophical or moral ideas, as seen with Wagner and Franck.

Critical Reception

Saint-Saëns' music, once known as 'the French Mendelssohn,' continued to appeal to audiences abroad for its clarity and attractive invention, designed to delight rather than shock.