Camille Saint-Saëns

La Muse et le Poète op. 132

La Muse et le poète op. 132 occupies a special place in Camille Saint-Saëns' oeuvre. In the fall of 1909, the composer reported to the cellist Joseph Hollmann on initial sketches for a duo (for violin and cello), which he completed in December - in the version with piano; he finished the orchestration in 1910. The dialog between the muse (violin) and the poet (violoncello) is dedicated "à la mémoire de Madame Julie-Henry Carruette" (1844-1908). She had commissioned a statue of the musician, which was unveiled at the Théâtre Dieppe on October 27, 1907. When she died the following year, Saint-Saëns was very upset.

The Duo, a work from the composer's late period, was premiered in the version for violin, violoncello and piano on June 7, 1910 at Queen's Hall in London with Eugène Ysaÿe (violin) and Joseph Hollmann (violoncello) and with the composer at the piano. The same soloists performed the work on October 10 at the Sarah Bernhardt Theater in Paris with Ferdinand Le Borne in the orchestral version. Performances with the violinist Ysaÿe and the cellist Pablo Casals followed two years later in Antwerp, and with other soloists in Monte Carlo in 1918. The concertante work was performed with great success by the public, but was also criticized by some critics for its virtuosity, although Saint-Saëns had expressly intended "a conversation between the two instruments, and not a competition between virtuosos". (Wolfgang Birtel)