Cellist age 16 plays Allegro Appassionato by Saint-Saens
French composer Camille Saint-Saens (pronounced Sanh-Sonh) was born in Paris in 1835. By the time he was three he was picking out tunes on the piano, and his great-aunt started teaching him. He made his professional debut at the age of 10, and also became a brilliant organist.
His first job was as a church organist, which allowed him time to pursue his interests in piano and composing. He later became a beloved teacher at a school for future organists and choirmasters, and wrote his famous “Carnival of the Animals” with his students in mind (although he didn’t finish it till much later, after he left the school).
Saint-Saëns was a keen traveler - from the 1870s until the end of his life he made 179 trips to 27 countries! His performances took him mostly to Germany and England; for vacations, and to avoid Parisian winters which affected his weak lungs, he often went to Algiers and Egypt in north Africa.
At his last public recital in 1921 it was noted that his playing was “as vivid and precise as ever”, and that he appeared “admirable for a man of eighty-six”. He died about a month later in Algiers, after a long and full musical life.