Camille Saint-Saens’s (1835-1921) most famous work, Le Carnaval des Animaux was written at the close of an unexpectedly abridged concert tour in February 1886, during which the composer presented his latest piano concerto – the fourth – to the public. In only a few days he wrote Carnaval, a collection of light-hearted musical characterizations of animals for various chamber-music forces.