大象传媒

Donald Macleod explores Camille Saint-Sa毛ns鈥� trips away from France, for concert tours and to recuperate from his ailments.

Camille Saint-Sa毛ns once said 鈥淚 produce music as an apple tree produces apples.鈥� 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-Sa毛ns, charting the changing relationship with France of one of the greatest musicians that the country has ever produced.

Saint-Sa毛ns was an inveterate traveller. In fact Debussy once said of the composer that he was so addicted to travel that he should abandon music and become an explorer! In Thursday鈥檚 episode, Donald follows Saint-Sa毛ns鈥� on his many journeys away from France. We'll meet him on tour, including frequent visits to London, and find him relaxing in Algiers, where he often went to convalesces. Donald also examines the period Saint-Sa毛ns spent travelling incognito, without any permanent home, suffering from both physical illnesses and fits of depression following the shock of the death of his mother.

Reverie
Yann Beuron (tenor)
Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana
Markus Poschner (conductor)

Henry VIII 鈥� Act 2 鈥淩eine! Je serai reine!鈥�
Elina Garan膷a (mezzo-soprano)
Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana
Roberto Abbado (conductor)

Symphony No 3 in C minor, Op 78 鈥淥rgan Symphony鈥� 鈥� Finale
Gaston Litaize (organ)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Daniel Barenboim (conductor)

Suite Algerienne, Op 60
Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana
Frances Travis (conductor)

Clarinet Sonata in E flat major, Op. 167 - III. Lento
Michael Collins (clarinet)
Noriko Ogawa (piano)

Ascanio 鈥� Act V, Scene 2 鈥� Tableau 7 (excerpt) 鈥� 鈥淏envenuto, ton oeuvre est accomplie!鈥�; 鈥淥 force immense du genie鈥�
Eve-Maud Hubeaux (mezzo-soprano)
Bernard Richter (tenor)
Jean-Francois Lapointe (baritone)
Ch艙ur et Orchestre de la Haute 脡cole de Musique de Gen猫ve
Guillaume Tourniaire (conductor)

Producer: Sam Phillips