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Camille Saint-Saens and the French Solo Concerto: From 1850 to 1920

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This is one of very few books recognising the special features of French music of the Romantic Era, and in particular the important contribution of music written by Camille Saint-Saens. Following the introduction, the first chapter offers a 32-page insight into the composer's character and life. This, alone, is a rare encounter and comes eight years before the detailed biographies by Rees and Studd. The following ten chapters are split into two sections dealing with the "Concertante" works by Saint-Saens and the French Solo Concerto around the same time. Both sections are logically structured and equipped with references, comparisons and examples, while works by Lalo, Dubois, Faure, Franck, Chausson and Debussy, to mention but a few, are additionally addressed. The interested reader can gain even more knowledge by consulting the appendices complementing the main chapters. In summary, for anyone keen to explore French romantic music this is a valuable book, which has been extensively researched and clearly written.