Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns wrote music of classical clarity and Romantic colour: the Organ Symphony’s blazing finale, the glittering Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, the late Clarinet Sonata, and the song Clair de lune that still draws listeners into moonlight and memory.
French Romantic craft at full stretch. The Third Symphony thrives in organ transcription, its C major opening ferocious and its closing flourishes dazzling. Violinists take the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso for its brilliance and unforced line; horn players keep the Romance Op. 36 in the standard repertoire; clarinet and piano find late elegance in the Op. 167 Sonata. Two-piano Variations on a Beethoven theme and the mélodie Clair de lune show the same ear for proportion and colour. The writing stays lucid even when the surface turns virtuosic, which is why these pieces still sound fresh in recital and on record.
Camille Saint-Saëns is featured on the following titles
Tuba Magnifique
Ian King, painter, scientist and tuba player extraordinaire, joins pianists Margaret Schofield and Dean Sky-Lucas for a wide-ranging recital that is truly très magnifique, spanning Spanish dances, Bach, Fauré and Kreisler.
Anthony Halliday plays Saint-Saëns, Beethoven, Duruflé, Bach
Few Australian musicians match Anthony Halliday’s versatile splendour. This latest of his all-too-few organ CDs emphasises his gifts in transcribing orchestral works, recorded on the organ of St Francis’ Church, Melbourne.
Team of Pianists presents the Schimmel K 256
Australia’s Team of Pianists inaugurates Schimmel’s Artist Collection on the new K 256 concert grand, with Brahms duets, Romantic and Impressionist solos, Saint-Saëns with clarinet, and Carl Vine.
Compositions by Camille Saint-Saëns also appear on
Poème: Music for the Romantic Violin
The internationally renowned violinist Miwako Abe and the pianist David McSkimming play works by French composers active in Paris at the end of the nineteenth century, sometimes inspiring each other and occasionally forming rivalries.
Hornocopia
About 110 minutes of French horn music, from classical staples to contemporary scores. Much of the programme sits on the AMEB French Horn syllabus, and several works appear here on CD for the first time – a practical set for students and teachers.
Victoria Brass Live
A top-class Australian brass band under Matthew van Emmerik in a full, varied programme of innovative repertoire: two world premieres, three Australasian premieres, and some well-loved classics.
Moonlight Reflections
A recital album full to the brim with exquisite art song, this recording gathers hidden treasures and classic favourites performed by Opera Australia star Stacey Alleaume.