Le Carnaval des animaux (The Carnival of the Animals)

The Carnival of the Animals is a suite for instrumental ensemble written by Camille Saint-Saëns in 1886. Premiered in the same year during the Paris Carnival, the work was played twice more before its public performance was forbidden by its composer. Perhaps Saint-Saëns was worried about the criticism he had received: the point of The Carnival of the Animals was to entertain people through music alone, and this humorous element seems to stand out from his other compositions. The 14 pieces that make up the suite are each dedicated to an animal, like a great musical zoo! The score is also tinged with irony: movement No. 11, for example, spotlights representatives of a curious species…The Pianists! This playful interlude in the career of the musician (who, in the same year, devoted himself to the creation of his Symphony No. 3 with organ) never ceases to amuse audiences world-wide, offering joyful melodies to both the young and old!