Camille Saint-Saëns is a famous French composer who was born about 150 years ago. He composed his first music when he was only 3 years old! He gave his first concert as a pianist when he was 5! He grew up to be one of the most important pianists of his time, and he was a fine conductor (like LACO's Jeffrey Kahane, who is also a great pianist!).

When Mr. Saint-Saëns was a teacher at a music school his students asked him to compose a musical joke for them. He wrote the “Carnival of the Animals” which describes in music lots of animals for you to meet! Along with a royal LION, cuckoo birds, preposterous elephants, a swan who swims in a beautiful lake, there are rattling fossil bones, and a young pianist who practices her scales on her piano.

The “Carnival of the Animals” was one of Mr. Saint-Saëns' favorite pieces and he chose not to publicize it, preferring that only he and his students perform it! He composed this piece in only a few short days. Listen to the animals having so much fun at their party. Which one is your favorite?

IMAGE CAPTIONS
In descriptive text: Henri Rousseau, Exotic Landscape, 1910. Oil on canvas. The Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena CA, USA.

In Let's Discover Music: Henri Rousseau. Tropical Forest with Monkeys. 1910. Oil on canvas. John Hay Whitney Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, USA

Henri Rousseau, The Merry Jesters. 1906. Oil on canvas. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia PA, USA