At Odds

Donald Macleod examines Saint-Saëns's experiences in France and abroad in the 20th century when he was seen as increasingly conservative and unfashionable.

Camille Saint-Saëns once said, “I produce music as an apple tree produces apples.” In his day, that fruit was gobbled up all across Europe where the composer was acclaimed as the greatest of all French musicians. Liszt called him the greatest organist in the world. Yet in France, and in his home city of Paris, he was not always so highly regarded, despite his strong bond with his homeland. Throughout this week, as we mark the centenary of his death, Donald Macleod delves into the life and work of Saint-Saëns, charting the changing relationship with France of one of the greatest musicians that the country has ever produced.

In the final episode this week, Donald examines Saint-Saëns's experiences in his final decades, after he had moved back to Paris following a decade without a home there. In these later years the composer was seen as increasingly out of step with contemporary culture in Paris and, despite his fervent patriotism and worldwide acclaim, it was admitted by a French newspaper in a review that “Parisians had learned to esteem him slowly when already in foreign countries his name resounded among the most famous”.

Desir de l’orient
Véronique Gens (soprano)
I Giardini

Piano Concerto No 5 in F, Op 103 'Egyptian' - III. Molto Allegro
Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano)
L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Charles Dutoit (conductor)

L’Assassinat du duc de Guise, Op 128
Ensemble Musique Oblique

Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A minor, Op 28
Renaud Capuçon (violin)
Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Daniel Harding (conductor)

Calme des nuits, Op 68, No 1
Monteverdi Choir
John Eliot Gardiner (director)

Producer: Sam Phillips