Saint-Saëns: “The Swan” from Carnival of the Animals, Popper: Tarantella, Op. 33

The Carnival of the Animals (Le Carnaval des animaux) is a whimsical musical suite composed by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, featuring 14 movements, each depicitng a different animal. “The Swan”, the 13th and penultimate movement, was originally scored for solo cello and two pianos.

It has been arranged and transcribed for many instruments but remains best known as a cello solo. The cello plays a flowing melody that evokes the image of a swan gliding gracefully over water – the rippling sixteenth notes in the piano. “The Swan” has become a staple of the cello repertoire and is best known in its arrangement for cello and one piano, which was the only version published during Saint-Saëns’s lifetime. In 1905, Mikhail Fokine choreographed this movement as a short ballet solo titled “The Dying Swan”. It was performed around 4000 times by ballerina Anna Pavlova, who captivated audiences with the dance and gained worldwide acclaim.

David Popper (June 16, 1843 – August 7, 1913) was a Bohemian cellist and prolific composer of cello compositions. Many of his compositions showcase the virtuosic possibilities of the instrument with pieces like Spinnlied (Spinning Song), Elfentanz (Dance of the Elves), and Ungarische Rhapsodie (Hungarian Rhapsody). He also has been immortalized by his High School of Cello Playing (Op. 73), an iconic collection of cello études used the world over by advanced cello students.