Notes for: July 22, 2014
Over a composing career of 85 years, Saint-Saëns wrote vast quantities of attractive character pieces for many different instruments. His object was to discover and exploit the distinctive character of the instruments, finding new ways both to distinguish and to blend them. This evening we hear two examples – one written when he was 36 years old and in the full bloom of his career as a composer, concert pianist and church organist, and the other when he was 22 and still establishing his reputation in Paris.
The Romance, a six-minute work, began life as a piece for flute and orchestra with contrasts between the flute and the other instruments. It attracted little attention from orchestras, however, and to increase its sheet-music sales he arranged it for flute and piano, turning it into a solo piece for the flute to be played in French living rooms.
Little is known about the piece other than the fact that Saint-Saëns dedicated it to a Belgian flutist Anthony de Vroye. It’s a lyrical excursion in A-B-A form with the solo flutist presenting a melody in each section and then expanding on it.