Saint Saens Swan

Ensemble Musique Oblique, Saint-Saens - Le Carnaval des animaux, Quintet Op14, L'Assassinat Op128
Harmonia Mundi | 2 juin 2000 | Classical | APE+CUE | 3% Recovery | 242 MB | Covers+Booklet | 73'38"

Le bestiaire d’un enfant du siècle.
Un lion, des gallinacées, un éléphant, des tortues, un coucou, un cygne… et des pianistes. Ce joyeux inventaire ne saurait faire oublier que Saint-Saëns fut avec L’Assassinat du duc de Guise (1908) l’un des premiers compositeurs pour le cinéma.

The bestiary of a child of the century.
A lion, cocks and hens, an elephant, tortoises, a cuckoo, a swan… and pianists. This merry parade reminds us that with L’Assassinat du duc de Guise Saint-Saëns was one of the earliest composers of film-music.

Lang Lang presents a treasure trove of musical discoveries in this album: Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto No. 2, recorded with the Gewandhausorchester and Andris Nelsons, is a true romantic masterpiece for Lang Lang that rivals the great concertos by Rachmaninoff or Tchaikovsky. Pairing it with Carnival of the Animals, a whimsical menagerie that has captivated young hearts for generations, Lang Lang continues his heartfelt wish to promote the love of classical music to young people and it also gives him a chance to collaborate with his wife, pianist Gina Alice. These two large scale orchestral works are complemented with solo compositions, including hidden gems by five female French composers as well as beloved French Classics.

Following the success of his first Decca release of solo piano music by Chopin, Liszt, and Ravel, Benjamin Grosvenor demonstrates his aptitude in the concerto repertoire on his second CD, Rhapsody in Blue, recorded with James Judd and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. This is a refreshing change from the usual Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninov concertos one hears from young artists eager to impress, and Grosvenor is clever enough to play not only engaging concertos by Saint-Saëns, Ravel, and Gershwin, but to toss in short bon-bons by these composers to sweeten the program.