Introduction

Camille Saint-Saëns is a composer we think we know. Yet when we look and listen more carefully we realise that he is constantly surprising us.

Tonight is the latest in a series of concerts in which we have ventured deep into the 19th Century – and where we will return in June with Princess Ida – to apply the microscope of historically-informed performance practice to ‘Romantic’ era music. The almost always attractive surface of the music hides beneath it many currents. Music that appears very French and of its time, but reveals a fascination with the past whilst being open to the innovations of his European colleagues such as Liszt and Wagner.

Saint-Saëns’ work sits well within our season theme of travel. The influences of his own travels found their way into the music, whilst the advancements of the time in transport, technology and communication enabled his work to reach wider audiences. Saint-Saëns’ long term popularity in the UK is demonstrated in the fact that the final piece on the programme, the Symphony No. 3, had its premiere here in London under the composer’s direction.

You can explore these ideas in more depth in the preconcert talk, the article in this programme and in videos on our YouTube channel. Tonight’s soloist Steven Isserlis has long been a champion of Saint-Saëns as a composer and as an Enlightenment figure. We are delighted to welcome him along with our other guest artists, Maxim Emelyanychev and James McVinnie.

We hope you enjoy rediscovering Saint-Saëns’ wonderful music with us tonight.

There will be a pre-concert talk ‘Saint-Saëns: reactionary or radical?’ by Robert Samuels at 6.00pm in the Level 5 Function Room, Green Side, Royal Festival Hall.