Camille Saint-Saëns

Ultimately Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) became one of the most important figures on the French music scene. He was a child prodigy and began playing the piano at the age of three. At the age of eight he began studying harmony and piano, and he was barely eleven when he gave his first concert. He also studied organ and composition, and at the age of 18 he took up the position of organist at the church of Saint-Merry and later, in 1857, at the Madeleine, where he remained for twenty years and became known for his spectacular improvisations and much else besides. Saint-Saëns gave concerts throughout the world on the piano and organ, as well as composing and teaching. Berlioz, Wagner, and Liszt were amongst his friends and admirers, and Clara Schumann visited him. Liszt dubbed Saint-Saëns “the greatest organist in the world” and later helped him to have his opera Samson et Dalila performed. In return, Saint-Saëns dedicated his marvellous 3rd Symphony with organ to Liszt. It is said that one day, Saint-Saëns played the entire opera Tristan from memory on the piano to an astounded Wagner, and sang all the parts as well (in his terrible piercing voice).

As a composer Saint-Saëns wrote a tremendous amount: besides 13 operas he composed many concertos, symphonies, chamber music, program music, songs, even music for a film, and sacred music. Yet although he was world-famous as a composer, his works were often criticised. Perhaps because he was not regarded as a revolutionary or at least an innovator, although he was alive when Fauré, Debussy, Stravinsky, Bartók, and Schoenberg were writing their masterpieces. Saint-Saëns composed most of his works before 1896; at the beginning of his career his music was felt to be too modern, and at the end, too traditional.

But we should on no account forget that Saint-Saëns provided much inspiration, and supported and influenced many students and composers. As a professor he based his teaching on German music and taught Gabriel Fauré, Paul Dukas, and many others very open-mindedly, and with role models such as Bach, Haydn, Mozart, and Mendelssohn. Because he feared the French musical tradition could disappear he founded the “Société nationale de musique”, which brought him accusations of nationalism. Perhaps history has honored him too little as a person, because he hated self-promotion. He was an extremely sensitive, delicate, kind, and humorous man, incredibly broadly educated and incredibly generous: he gave lots of money to anyone who was in need. In the end he died in great poverty.