![]() ![]() Attila spent sixteen years as a company dancer and is currently in his sixth season as Ballet Master. He has performed as a guest artist with Mobile Ballet, Bravo Dance, Harrisburg Ballet, Ballet Theatre of Chicago and the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. After moving to the United States, he joined the Joffrey Ballet School. Spring Break for Kids 2024 Peter and the Wolfīorn in Kisvarda, Hungary, Attila received his early training at the National Ballet Institute in Budapest.Grand Rapids Ballet Soirée Fundraiser Event.Saint-Saëns even parodies himself by including an excerpt from his “Danse macabre.” In the immense oeuvre of Camille Saint-Saëns, it represents one of his most creative and delightful journeys into the imagination, and his animal miniatures have rightfully become favorites with audiences worldwide. We find thematic material originating in Felix Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hector Berlioz’s “Dance of the Sylphs” from his The Damnation of Faust, and even Jacque Offenbach’s famous “Can-Can” from the operetta Orpheus in the Underworld. However, The Carnival of Animals not merely provides musical descriptions of the animal kingdom, it also parodies famous composers. The xylophone resembles the clattering of fossil bones, the double bass poses as an elephant, and the violin is clucking like a hen laying an egg. Saint-Saëns exploited the sounds of the instruments to perfection, most effectively painting the picture of the animals. In today’s performances, the glockenspiel is frequently substituted for the glass harmonica. His first version was written for only 11 players, and it included two pianos and a few orchestral instruments, while the final version consists of 14 movements forming a suite, and utilizes two pianos, a xylophone, strings, glass harmonica, clarinet, and flute. Title page of manuscript of “Fossils”, no. Fossils (Paris Conservatoire Orchestra Georges Prêtre, cond.) Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals – XI. The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods (Paris Conservatoire Orchestra Georges Prêtre, cond.) Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals – VIII. … When he likes to joke, the master never forgets that he is the master.” Themes, whimsical ideas, instrumentation compete with buffoonery, grace and science. In every bar, at every point, there are unexpected and irresistible finds. From the first note to the last it is an uninterrupted outpouring of a spirit of the highest and noblest comedy. In the immense oeuvre of Camille Saint-Saëns, The Carnival of the Animals is certainly one of his magnificent masterpieces. The newspaper “Le Figaro” reported, “We cannot describe the cries of admiring joy let loose by an enthusiastic public. As such, it was first printed by Durand in Paris in April 1922 and rapturously received. In fact Saint-Saëns specified in his will that the work should only be published after his death. For that occasion, Saint-Saëns fashioned an arrangement for cello and solo piano relying on his original score for two pianos. He was adamant that the work would not be published in his lifetime, and initially only allowed “The Swan” to be published in 1887. ![]() Aquarium (Paris Conservatoire Orchestra Georges Prêtre, cond.)ĭespite its overwhelming success, Saint-Saëns was concerned that his whimsical animal miniatures, full of delightful jokes, might hamper his public image of being a matured and serious composer. Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals – VII. Kangaroos (Paris Conservatoire Orchestra Georges Prêtre, cond.) Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals – IV. All those performances were semi-private, except for one at the Société des instruments à vent in April 1892, and “often took place with the musicians wearing masks of the heads of the various animals they represented.” There were other performances, typically for the French mid-Lent festival of Mi-Carême. This zoological fantasy was received with great enthusiasm.” Only a couple of days later, a second performance was given at Émile Lemoine’s chamber music society La Trompette, followed by another at the home of Pauline Viardot with an audience including Franz Liszt, a friend of the composer, who had expressed a wish to hear the work. A critic and eyewitness reports, “Monsieur Lebouc managed to assemble a definitive line-up of eminent performers: Messieurs Saint-Saëns, Diémer, Taffanel, Turban, Maurin, Prioré, de Bailly and Tourcy who, after a very interesting program, took part in the first performance of a very witty fantasy burlesque, composed for this concert by Saint-Saëns and entitled the Carnival of the Animals.
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