Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) was a French composer, organist, pianist, and educator. He was born in Paris, where he lived with his mother and aunt. A child prodigy, he displayed remarkable talent on the piano as well as a perfect pitch from a young age. He performed for small audiences as a child before making his official debut at ten years old. At thirteen, he entered the Paris Conservatory, where he studied organ with François Benoist and composition with Fromental Halévy. Though he never won the coveted Prix de Rome, he did win top prizes in organ performance and was successful in other composition competitions, drawing attention to himself as a young composer to watch. Upon graduating, he began work as an organist. He initially took a job at the Church of Saint-Merri before landing a more prestigious position at the famous Church of Madeleine in 1858, where he worked for twenty years. 

Saint-Saëns became friends with several prominent composers of the time, most notably Franz Liszt, who encouraged his career. He returned the favor by promoting Liszt’s works, along with those of Schumann and Wagner. From 1861-65, he taught piano at the Niedermeyer School, where he exposed his students to these contemporary works, straying from the traditional curriculum. After he left the school, he turned his attention more prominently to performance and composition. In 1867, he won the composition prize at the Grande Fête Internationale competition in Paris, and in 1868, he premiered his second piano concerto, which gained him widespread recognition as the first French composer to write a significant piece in this genre. 

In the 1870s, Saint-Saëns briefly fled to London during the Franco-Prussian War. He also married Marie-Laure Truffot, though they soon became estranged after tragically losing their two young sons. Despite these personal tragedies, he began to find even more success in his career. He took an interest in composing symphonic poems in the style of Liszt, the most famous of which was his 1874 Danse Macabre. In 1877, his popular opera Samson and Dalila premiered, which is still frequently performed today. He also toured extensively across the world, performing on piano and conducting his orchestral works. 

In 1886, he premiered his beloved third symphony, commonly known as the Organ Symphony, and completed perhaps his most well-known work, Carnival of the Animals. Ironically, Saint-Saëns refused to allow this work to be premiered during his life for fear that it would ruin his reputation as a serious composer. Today, it is treasured by audiences and often used to introduce children to the instruments of the orchestra. 

Moving into the twentieth century, Saint-Saëns never adapted to the modern French style adopted by composers such as Debussy. He became known as a conservative composer, despite his support of contemporary and experimental music earlier in his career. Perhaps it is for this reason that only a few works from his massive output remain popular today. Nonetheless, he is remembered as a musical genius, a piano and organ prodigy, and an esteemed professor. He died in 1921 of a heart attack. He was given a state funeral at the Church of Madeleine, and later buried in the Montparnasse cemetery. 

Portrait: Nadar