Manege frei - die Tiere feiern Karneval!

Conductor: Seong-Bin Oh
Moderation: Joanna Willenbrink

Camille Saint-Saëns created one of his most famous works with the Carnival of the Animals. However, he did not want to publish his "zoological fantasy", as his composition was nicknamed, during his lifetime. He feared for his reputation as a composer to be taken seriously. It's also bizarre: animals celebrate carnival. And then there's the party: lions, chickens, tortoises, an elephant, birds. Even kangaroos make an appearance in this merry party!

In his music, Saint-Saëns imitates the animal world with heart and wit. And he takes it even further. He also imitates his fellow musicians! Don't the tortoises have something of Jaques Offenbach about them? And don't Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and Hector Berlioz also resonate in the elephant's delicate prima donna dance? That's right. So that they can rejoice with all the people who love the Carnival of the Animals. Saint-Saëns, at least, will probably still not have stopped smiling.