Loading…
- Saint Saens, Camille
Duration: 16 minutes
Description: Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) composed LA JEUNESSE D’HERCULE (THE YOUTH OF HERCULES), Op. 50, in 1877, one of several symphonic poems he wrote during the 1870s as he explored orchestral tone painting in the manner of Liszt. Inspired by the myth of Hercules choosing between the paths of virtue and pleasure, the piece depicts the hero’s struggle through vivid orchestral contrasts, from languid, sensuous themes to vigorous, martial passages that culminate in a triumphant resolution. The work was premiered on January 28, 1877, at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris conducted by Édouard Colonne, and it was admired for its colorful orchestration and dramatic narrative. Today, although performed less often than Saint-Saëns’s concertos or DANSE MACABRE, LA JEUNESSE D’HERCULE remains a striking example of his symphonic imagination, valued for its expressive power, mythological subject, and place within the evolution of the 19th-century symphonic poem. Instrumentation: 2+Picc.2.2.2: 4.2+2Cnt+1Bugle.3.1: Timp.Perc(4): Hp: Str (9.8.7.6.5 in set). Reprint edition.