Saint-Saëns’ works for cello and orchestra

French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, one of the most extraordinary musical prodigies in the history of western music, was born in 1835 (when Mendelssohn was still in full compositional flow) and died in 1921 (the best part of a decade after Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring had delivered its shock waves). Raymond Bisha presents Gabriel Schwabe’s new release of Saint-Saëns’ works for cello and orchestra that demonstrates this lyrical preeminence with aplomb.