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. The dialog between the muse (violin) and the poet (cello) 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, cello and piano on June 7, 1910 at London's Queen's Hall with Eugène Ysaÿe (violin) and Joseph Hollmann (cello) and with the composer at the piano. 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 contest between virtuosos". (Wolfgang Birtel)

This arrangement was commissioned for the "Kronberg Academy Festival 2013" and was premiered on October 3, 2013 by Hyeyoon Park (violin), Gary Hoffman (cello) and the Kremerata Baltica (cond. Christian Kluxen).

The orchestral part set is 6/5/4/3/2-Pk. The solo parts are included in the new edition of the piano version published by Edition Dohr (E.D. 20161), which also serves as a piano reduction of the arrangement.