Camille Saint-Saëns: Le Cygne: Cello: Instrumental Work

Saint-Saens' life-long admiration of the cello led to some of his finest compositions. This edition by celebrated cellist Steven Isserlis and Saint-Saens scholar Sabina Teller Ratner brings together a collection as varied as it is appealing for Solo Cello with Piano Accompaniment. This volume includes some of Saint-Saens' best-loved pieces such as Allegro Appasionato and Le Cygne alongside his previously unpublished Gavotte.Primary sources have been consulted in preparation of the edition which includes performance notes by Steven Isserlis and an informative introduction.The solo cello part is also includedon a separate insert.

Soon after its composition in 1886, Camille Saint-Saëns asked Auguste Durand that Le Carnaval des animaux, which he thought of as a parodic fantasia, should only appear in print posthumously. He probably believed that this entertainment would tarnish the seriousness of the rest of his oeuvre. The Carnaval was therefore published in February 1922, two months after the composer's death. Nevertheless the composer contravened the restrictions he had imposed: in 1886 Charles-Joseph Lebouc obtained the authorization to make and publish a transcription for piano and cello of the penultimate piece in this musical bestiary: no.13, Le Cygne . This arrangement, which became a bravura piece for cello, was an immense success each listener compelled to imagine a majestic swan gliding across a lake , a success which Saint-Saëns was obliged to accept. / Violoncelle / Durand

From Le Carnaval Des Animaux 1886. Edited for cello or viola and piano by Robin De Smet.