Saint-Saëns Lang Lang, Gina Alice, Gewandhausorchester & Andris Nelsons

• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921): Carnival of the Animals, R. 125:
• 1Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: Ia. Introduction00:31
• 2Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: Ib. Royal March of the Lion01:36
• 3Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: II. Hens and Cocks00:45
• 4Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: III. Wild Asses00:40
• 5Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: IV. Tortoises02:18
• 6Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: V. The Elephant01:38
• 7Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: VI. Kangaroos00:52
• 8Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: VII. Aquarium02:30
• 9Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: VIII. Personages with Long Ears00:43
• 10Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: IX. The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods02:18
• 11Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: X. Aviary01:18
• 12Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: XI. Pianists01:15
• 13Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: XII. Fossils01:26
• 14Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: XIII. The Swan03:09
• 15Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: XIV. Finale01:53
• Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22
• 16Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22: I. Andante sostenuto13:16
• 17Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22: II. Allegro scherzando05:51
• 18Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22: III. Presto06:50
• Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937): Pavane pour une infante défunte, M. 19:
• 19Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte, M. 1906:57
• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): Petite Suite, CD 71:
• 20Debussy: Petite Suite, CD 71: I. En bateau04:14
• 21Debussy: Petite Suite, CD 71: II. Cortège03:35
• 22Debussy: Petite Suite, CD 71: III. Menuet03:40
• 23Debussy: Petite Suite, CD 71: IV. Ballet03:13
• Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924): Requiem, Op. 48:
• 24Fauré: Requiem, Op. 48: VII. In paradisium (Arr. Naoumoff for Piano)03:44
• Léo Delibes (1836 - 1891): Lakmé:
• 25Delibes: Lakmé: Flower Duet (Arr. Naoumoff for Piano)02:14
• Camille Saint-Saëns: 6 Etudes, Op. 111:
• 26Saint-Saëns: 6 Etudes, Op. 111: No. 6, Toccata d'après le cinquième concerto04:03
• Gabriel Fauré: Pavane, Op. 50 (Version for Piano):
• 27Fauré: Pavane, Op. 50 (Version for Piano)06:13
• Louise Farrenc (1804 - 1875): 30 Etudes, Op. 26:
• 28Farrenc: 30 Etudes, Op. 26: No. 10 in F-Sharp Minor. Adagio05:28
• Charlotte Sohy (1887 - 1955): 4 Pièces romantiques, Op. 30:
• 29Sohy: 4 Pièces romantiques, Op. 30: No. 4, Romance sans paroles03:15
• Germaine Tailleferre (1892 - 1983): Valse lente:
• 30Tailleferre: Valse lente02:46
• Mel Bonis (1858 - 1937): Miocheries, Op. 126:
• 31Bonis: Miocheries, Op. 126: No. 13, La toute petite s'endort01:56
• Lili Boulanger (1893 - 1918): D'un jardin clair:
• 32Boulanger: D'un jardin clair03:21
• Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125:
• 33Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: XIII. The Swan (Arr. Naoumoff for Piano 4 Hands)03:15
• Total Runtime01:46:43

Info for Saint-Saëns

"Lang Lang - Saint-Saëns" will be issued by Deutsche Grammophon as double album on 1 March 2024. As well as featuring a full performance of Carnival of the Animals, it presents Lang Lang’s interpretation of Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto No. 2. The artist is joined in both works by the Gewandhausorchester and Andris Nelsons, while his wife Gina Alice is the second pianist in Carnival. The album also includes a dozen pieces for solo piano or piano four hands – a mix of neglected gems by female French composers and Belle Époque favourites.

The former group comprises D’un jardin clair by Lili Boulanger (1893-1918); Valse lente by Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983), released as a single last month; “La toute petite s’endort” from Miocheries by Mélanie-Hélène Bonis (1858-1937); Étude No. 10 by Louise Farrenc (1804-1875); and “Romance sans paroles” from Quatre pièces romantiques Op. 30 by Charlotte Sohy (1897-1955).

Alongside these rarities, Lang Lang has chosen a series of other smaller-scale works by more familiar French names. Among these are Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte; Fauré’s Pavane; and Debussy’s Petite Suite, a duet with Gina Alice.

Of the album’s two large-scale orchestral works by Saint-Saëns, the Second Piano Concerto is, according to Lang Lang, a “magnificent but underrated Romantic masterpiece”. As part of the pianist’s Saint-Saëns project, a film of the work made live in concert at Leipzig’s Gewandhaus will be available to watch on ARTE on 24 March 2024 and will get its first STAGE+ screening on 28 March, which is World Piano Day.

Lang Lang’s decision to open the album with a work that has enchanted generations of young listeners and introduced millions to classical music reflects his mission to attract children to the genre. “Many of us remember Saint-Saëns’s famous Carnival of the Animals from childhood. There are a lot of clever ideas underneath all the fun. He’s making a real statement, but in a very humorous way,” says the pianist. “And of course it was wonderful to record it with my wife, Gina Alice.”

For Gina Alice, the recording sessions were a personal milestone. “I have been admiring both Andris Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester for years,” she notes. “Collaborating with them was a great honour, and I wanted to give my best and enjoy every moment of it. Practising and recording this piece together with Lang Lang felt like another dimension of communication, and I am truly grateful for this opportunity.”

The 14-movement musical bestiary was written at speed in 1886 and its parodies of music by, among others, Rossini, Offenbach, Mendelssohn and Saint-Saëns himself, apparently intended for the amusement of his students, received several private or semi-private performances before being shelved to spare Saint-Saëns from losing his reputation as a “serious” artist.

Lang Lang, piano

Gina Alice, piano
Burak Marlali, double bass
Andreas Lehnert, clarinet
Cornelia Grohmann, flute
Christian Giger, cello
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor

Please Note: we do not offer the 192kHz version of this album, because there is no considerable or audible difference to the 96kHz version!

Lang Lang
Internationally renowned pianist Lang Lang has sold millions of albums worldwide, topping classical charts and achieving simultaneous mainstream success. Named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME magazine, during the past decade he has performed for such dignitaries as President Barack Obama, Pope Francis and the late Queen Elizabeth II, as well as giving sold-out concerts with all of the world’s top orchestras and conductors. Lang Lang has also reached vast televised audiences by performing at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and with artists such as Metallica, Pharrell Williams and Herbie Hancock at various editions of the Grammy Awards. In April 2020 he took part in the One World: Together At Home concert, which was broadcast on major television networks and streamed online on multiple global platforms. In June 2022, Lang Lang was announced as an honoree in the Hollywood Walk of Fame Class of 2023. Lang Lang will be recognised in a ceremony in April 2024 together with such stars as Paul Walker, Uma Thurman, Lenny Kravtiz, Mindy Kaling, the Jonas Brothers, Melba Moore, Pentatonix and others.

The scale of Lang Lang’s musical achievements is mirrored by his tireless commitment to charitable causes, most notably through the Lang Lang International Music Foundation and Keys of Inspiration®. Both a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and a UN Messenger of Peace, he has inspired over 40 million children to learn the piano and has developed hugely successful educational programmes. Lang Lang’s recent albums, 2019’s The Piano Book, 2020’s Goldberg Variations and 2022’s The Disney Book, were runaway international bestsellers. He won an army of new fans in 2023 as one of the judges on The Piano, a heartwarming talent show broadcast by Channel 4 in the UK. One of the most influential classical musicians in the world, Lang Lang has over 20 million social media followers. Everything the pianist does is underpinned by his belief that “music makes life better – it heals, unites and inspires, and it makes us better people”.

Booklet for Saint-Saëns