Presents
Camille Saint-Saëns
Caprice on Danish and Russian Airs, Op.79
For Flute, Oboe, Clarinet and Piano
The Caprice sur des airs danois et russes (Caprice on Danish and Russian Airs), Op. 79 was composed in 1887. The inspiration for using Danish and Russian airs can be linked to the dedicatee Maria Feodorovna, a Danish princess who became Empress of Russia in 1881 as the spouse of Alexander III. In 1887, Saint-Saëns was engaged for seven concerts in Russia with the Imperial Opera Orchestra. He invited three famous French wind players, flutist Paul Taffanel, oboist Georges Gillet and clarinetist Charles Turban to come with him, and wrote the Caprice especially for them. The premiere took place on April, 21 1887 in St Petersburg, with the composer on the piano. The famous pianist and composer Anton Rubinstein, at that time director of the St Petersburg Conservatory, was reportedly so impressed that he made all the wind students attend the final concert so they could "get some idea of exactly what could be achieved on these instruments".
The work consists of a single movement, taking approximately 11 minutes to perform. Structurally, it can be divided into three distinct sections: an introduction, a Danish air with variations, and two Russian airs with variations and a coda. Each of the three themes is introduced by a different wind instrument. Our edition is the only one that has eliminated the page problems in the wind parts. Every other edition, old or new, makes it nearly impossible to perform the work without cutting the pages apart and then taping them back together.
Parts: $19.95
