Camille Saint-Saëns

Saint-Saëns was born 9th of October 1835 in Paris. He was a boy with a high musical talent.  He was an organist, conductor and pianist. He is one of the key figures that characterises the  era that divides classical and romantic music. He made his first concert debut at the age of five years old by playing accompaniment with Violin playing Beethoven Violin sonata. He joined the Paris Conservatory in 1845s. He followed a conventional career as a church organist. He became a successful freelance pianist and composer, in demand in Europe and the Americas.The youthful Saint-Saëns, pictured, studied the organ and composition at the Conservatoire de Paris. He won many top prizes and eventually gained an introduction to Franz Liszt who went on to become one of his closest friends and supporters. Liszt described Saint-Saëns as ‘the greatest organist in the world’. The composer’s formidable intellect was not limited to music. He had a profound interest in - and knowledge of - geology, botany, butterflies, and maths. He enjoyed discussions with Europe's finest scientists and wrote numerous academic articles about acoustics. Towards the end of his life, Saint-Saëns undertook a triumphant tour of America but gradually found that his style of composition was no longer regarded as being fashionable by the Parisian chattering classes. He died in Algiers on 16 December 1921. He is buried in the same Paris cemetery as his fellow composers Chabrier and Auric, as well as Cesar Franck. But today, Saint-Saëns' music is performed and loved the world over.