Carnival of the Animals, The - Suite (Le Carnaval des Animaux) [Alf:36-A007801]

Following a disastrous concert tour of Germany in 1885-86, Camille Saint-SaĞns (1835-1921) withdrew to a small Austrian village, where he composed THE CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS (LE CARNAVAL DES ANIMAUX) in February 1886. From the beginning, the composer regarded the work as a piece of fun. He wrote to his publishers Durand in Paris that he was composing a work for the coming Shrove Tuesday, and confessing that he knew he should be working on his Third Symphony, but that this work was "such fun" ("... mais c'est si amusant!"). He had apparently intended to write the work for his students at the ‰cole Niedermeyer, but it was first performed at a private concert given by the cellist Charles Lebouc on Shrove Tuesday, 9 March 1886. This orchestral suite version transcribed by Steven Rosenhaus includes: Introduction and Royal March of the Lions, Kangaroos, The Cuckoo Deep in the Forest Fossils and Finale. Instrumentation: 2+Picc.2.2.2: 2.2.2+BTbn.0: Timp.Perc(2): Str (9.8.7.6.5 in set).