CENTENNIAL HONORS COLLEGE
Western Illinois University
Undergraduate Research Day 2016
PerformancePresentation
CamilleSaint-Saens:ARomanticComposerintheBeginningofthe20thCentury
MadisonThielsen
FacultyMentor:EricGinsberg
Music
CamilleSaint-Saenslivedfrom1835to1921andwasheavilyexposedtothedramaofromanticmusic.
Hewasveryawareofmusicfromthepastandcreatedthefoundationofhismusicbystudyingsomeof
thegreatclassicalcomposers:Bach,Handel,Haydn,andMozart.Hecomposedinaromanticstyleand
wasquiteopposedtomodernistmusic.Heevenwentsofarastospeakagainstmodernistmusicatthe
premier of The Rite of Spring. While many composers started to compose in similar modernist styles,
Saint-SaensstayedrootedintheRomanticEra.Eventhoughtheendofhislifetookplaceduringatime
of change in music, he continued to compose in the dramatic style of romantic music using many
sweepinggestures.Saint-SaenscomposedhisSonataforClarinetandPianoduringthatlastyearofhis
life.Thoughthiscompositionwaswrittenlaterinhislife,itstillholdsmanyofthesameelementsashis
earlierpiecessuchasself-containedmelodieswithobviousphrasing.Saint-Saensseemedtoalmostbe
stuckintimewithhiscompositions.Whilemostoftheworldwasmovingforwardintomodernistmusic,
hewasstillcomposingasthoughitwastheheightoftheRomanticEra.