Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon) Lang Lang, Gina Alice, Jimmy Fallon, Gewandhausorchester & Andris Nelsons

• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921): Carnival of the Animals, R. 125:
• 1Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: Ia. Introduction (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon)00:24
• 2Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: Ia. Introduction00:30
• 3Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: Ib. Royal March of the Lion (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon)00:19
• 4Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: Ib. Royal March of the Lion01:36
• 5Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: II. Hens and Cocks (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon)00:45
• 6Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: III. Wild Asses (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon)00:22
• 7Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: III. Wild Asses00:40
• 8Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: IV. Tortoises (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon)02:18
• 9Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: V. The Elephant (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon)01:37
• 10Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: VI. Kangaroos (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon)00:52
• 11Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: VII. Aquarium (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon)02:29
• 12Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: VIII. Personages with Long Ears (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon)00:43
• 13Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: IX. The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon)00:11
• 14Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: IX. The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods02:15
• 15Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: X. Aviary (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon)01:41
• 16Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: XI. Pianists (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon)01:15
• 17Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: XII. Fossils (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon)01:35
• 18Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: XIII. The Swan (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon)03:21
• 19Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: XIV. Finale (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon)01:56
• Total Runtime24:49

Info for Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon)

"Lang Lang - Saint-Saëns" will be issued by Deutsche Grammophon as double album on 1 March 2024. As well as featuring a full performance of Carnival of the Animals, it presents Lang Lang’s interpretation of Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto No. 2. The artist is joined in both works by the Gewandhausorchester and Andris Nelsons, while his wife Gina Alice is the second pianist in Carnival. The album also includes a dozen pieces for solo piano or piano four hands – a mix of neglected gems by female French composers and Belle Époque favourites.

The former group comprises D’un jardin clair by Lili Boulanger (1893-1918); Valse lente by Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983), released as a single last month; “La toute petite s’endort” from Miocheries by Mélanie-Hélène Bonis (1858-1937); Étude No. 10 by Louise Farrenc (1804-1875); and “Romance sans paroles” from Quatre pièces romantiques Op. 30 by Charlotte Sohy (1897-1955).

Alongside these rarities, Lang Lang has chosen a series of other smaller-scale works by more familiar French names. Among these are Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte; Fauré’s Pavane; and Debussy’s Petite Suite, a duet with Gina Alice.

Of the album’s two large-scale orchestral works by Saint-Saëns, the Second Piano Concerto is, according to Lang Lang, a “magnificent but underrated Romantic masterpiece”. As part of the pianist’s Saint-Saëns project, a film of the work made live in concert at Leipzig’s Gewandhaus will be available to watch on ARTE on 24 March 2024 and will get its first STAGE+ screening on 28 March, which is World Piano Day.

Lang Lang’s decision to open the album with a work that has enchanted generations of young listeners and introduced millions to classical music reflects his mission to attract children to the genre. “Many of us remember Saint-Saëns’s famous Carnival of the Animals from childhood. There are a lot of clever ideas underneath all the fun. He’s making a real statement, but in a very humorous way,” says the pianist. “And of course it was wonderful to record it with my wife, Gina Alice.”

For Gina Alice, the recording sessions were a personal milestone. “I have been admiring both Andris Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester for years,” she notes. “Collaborating with them was a great honour, and I wanted to give my best and enjoy every moment of it. Practising and recording this piece together with Lang Lang felt like another dimension of communication, and I am truly grateful for this opportunity.”

The 14-movement musical bestiary was written at speed in 1886 and its parodies of music by, among others, Rossini, Offenbach, Mendelssohn and Saint-Saëns himself, apparently intended for the amusement of his students, received several private or semi-private performances before being shelved to spare Saint-Saëns from losing his reputation as a “serious” artist.

Lang Lang, piano

Gina Alice, piano
Burak Marlali, double bass
Andreas Lehnert, clarinet
Cornelia Grohmann, flute
Christian Giger, cello
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor

Please Note: we do not offer the 192kHz version of this album, because there is no considerable or audible difference to the 96kHz version!

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