Customer Reviews

Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals; Organ Symphony

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This is a nice selection of Saint-Saëns' work. The symphonic poem Danse Macabre, my favorite of his compositions, is wonderfully performed, as is the exotically gorgeous Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila (which you've probably heard duplicated on many older movies based in the Middle East). The organ symphony is magnificent and, for those of us who enjoy the music for its own sake, the Carnival of the Animals is presented without narration but with beautiful cello work by Yo-Yo Ma. Personally, I find Aquarium in particular to be a wonderful piece that stands very well on its own without commentary, despite the composer's misgivings about the entire composition.

If you want to listen to Nash's (or others; for example, Peter Schickele also wrote narration for the Carnival), then this CD is not for you. However, if you want to hear the Carnival and (especially) the other works beautifully performed, you can't miss with this collection.

I recieved this CD as a Christmas present and I have been listening to it fairly consistently since. Saint-Saens has made my list of favorite classical composers because his music has the ability to tell stories, and cover wide ranges of emotions in a single piece. My absolute favorite track from this CD is the "Bacchanale", for its lively orchestration and toe-tapping "dance-til-you-drop" rhythms. I also especially enjoy the "Carnival of the Animals" segment; each beautifully orchestrated piece is arranged so well, one can often tell which animal it represents without having to double-check the index on the back of the CD. Finally, among other great works of this composer, the CD also includes the undisputed best version of the famous "Danse Macabre" that I have ever heard in my life. I give this beautiful, addictive CD a HUGE thumbs up!

This is a superb performance of the Organ Symphony by Eugene Ormandy, the Philadelphia Orchestra and E. Power Biggs. The sound is a little outdated, but the performance is spectacular. Crank up the sound and listen.

It's a good recording and the info in the booklet is really useful.
I recommend this CD if you want to know the Saint-Saëns music.

Product came as advertised, very quick delivery. No problems whatsoever. Would definitely use again.

We ordered two versions of "Carnival of the Animals" at the same time and this one was a disappointment because the music is meaningless without the wonderful poetry of Ogden Nash. The Boston Pops recording is much better because it does include the brief narrative that introduces each segment.

Dos obras distintas, muy lejanas, unidas por la genialidad de un frances que demostro que todo no estaba escrito (o compuesto aun).
El carnaval de los animales una genial obra destinada a ser una introduccion a la musica selecta de los niños es entretenida, didactica y mas extraordinaria de lo que puede esperarse, instrumentos que se convierten en animales en una zoologica suite son increibles. La interpretacion esta a cargo de lo que se llamo Philippe Entremont and ensemble, casi un grupo de amigos reunidos para hacernos disfrutar de musica alegre y original, sorprendente, entre otros forman el grupo Gaby Cassadesus, Yo Yo ma, Yan Pascal Tortellier y el xilofonista Michel Cerutti.
La otra parte del CD la incluye un grupo de obras sinfonicas magnificentes Bacchanale de Sanson y Dalila, la marcha militar francesa, una extraordinaria Dansa Macabra y la espectacular Sinfonia con Organo. Todo este grupo de obras esta a cargo de Eugene Ormandy y la orquesta de Filadelfia en interpretaciones sin comparacion, cercanos a la perfeccion, vientos, cuerdas y percusion sin igual. Para la sinfonia el portentoso E. Power Biggs (quien hizo otra grabacion de esta sinfonia junto a Ormandy) hace del instrumento casi barroco un solista estremecedor.
Disfruten de un Cd que es generoso en variedad y en calidad interpretativa, sin igual, imperdible.