PROGRAM NOTES     	 	
CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS
Concerto No. 1 in A minor  
for Cello and Orchestra, Opus 33
COMPOSER: Born Paris, France, October 9, 1835;  
died Algiers, Algeria, December 16, 1921.
WORK COMPOSED: 1872. Dedicated to cellist Auguste Tolbecque.
WORLD PREMIERE: Paris, January 19, 1873. Auguste Tolbecque,  
soloist, and the orchestra of the Paris Conservatoire,  
conducted by Édouard Deldevez.
INSTRUMENTATION: Solo cello, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons,  
2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings
ESTIMATED DURATION: 20 minutes
N
o composer has ever been able to reach the unbelievable precocity of Mozart, who wrote his 
first symphony at the age of eight. Camille Saint-Saëns, however, came close. He first played 
the piano in public at age five, and at ten, gave his formal debut at Paris’s Salle Pleyel, during which, 
as the legend goes, he offered to play any of Beethoven’s 32 sonatas from memory. Saint-Saëns 
grew up to become a veritable national institution in France as one of the country’s most prominent 
composers, pianists and organists.
At the time of his death at age 86, Saint-Saëns’s catalog comprised no fewer than 169 opus 
numbers, plus a great many unnumbered works, including about a dozen operas. His output covers 
just about every type of concert music that existed in France at the time, from symphonies and 
concertos to sacred music, chamber music, songs, and works for keyboard.
Though not a string player himself, Saint-Saëns had a strong affinity for string instruments. He 
wrote three concertos and numerous solo works for the violin, as well as two concertos and two 
sonatas for cello (not to mention “The Swan,” that most beloved of cello solos, which is part of the 
popular Carnival of the Animals).
The First Cello Concerto was written for Auguste Tolbecque (1830-1919), principal cellist of the Paris 
Conservatory Orchestra. It stands out among Saint-Saëns’s concertos by its serious tone and its 
structural innovations. The concerto is played without pause, the usual three movements condensed 
into one. It begins without any introduction as the soloist launches into a passionate theme with a 
wide melodic range, strong offbeat accents, and fast runs. The tremolos (rapid repetitions of notes) 
in the violins and violas add to the excitement. Except for a few moments when a more lyrical idea 
takes over, this passionate tone is sustained throughout the entire movement. Then everything 
suddenly changes: the music moves to a new key, tempo, and meter, and we hear a delicate minuet, 
intentionally old-fashioned, played by muted strings. The solo cello adds a nostalgic countermelody 
to the minuet; at one point, the solo part evolves into a brief cadenza. The passionate melody of the 
opening then returns and is expanded into a brilliant finale. At the very end, the tonality changes 
from minor to major, and the piece ends with a flourish.
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