Camille Saint-Saëns Popular Songs Ranking [2026]

The Carnival of the Animals, No. 13: The SwanCamille Saint-Saëns8rank/position

C. Saint-Saëns = L. Garban The Carnival of the Animals Duoal performs The Carnival of the Animals, piano four hands version!

The Carnival of the Animals, a suite by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, is often performed as piano four-hands or on two pianos, eight hands.

The 13th movement, The Swan, is especially popular within the suite for its beautiful melody and elegant atmosphere, and it’s at a level that intermediate players can comfortably perform as a duet.

However, to convey the cello’s unhurried melody on the piano, you must maintain thorough legato so the sound never breaks for even an instant.

Because it’s a famous and impressive piece to listen to, those looking for a duet to perform at a recital should definitely check it out.

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Suite “The Carnival of the Animals,” No. 14: FinaleCamille Saint-Saëns9rank/position

40th Prizewinners’ Commemorative Concert, Piano Duet Intermediate B [Gold Prize] Kanade Tanimura & Yui Tamura — Saint-Saëns: From “The Carnival of the Animals” — “Fossils,” “Finale”

Camille Saint-Saëns’s signature work, The Carnival of the Animals, is also very popular in Japan and often heard in media such as commercials.

Among its movements, I’d like to highlight the highly recommended Suite “The Carnival of the Animals,” No.

14: Finale.

As the title suggests, this piece crowns the suite as its finale, and its structure is suitably grand and brilliant.

It’s a piece that easily creates a vivid atmosphere, making it an excellent first choice for those attempting piano four hands for the first time.

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The Swan from “The Carnival of the Animals”Camille Saint-Saëns10rank/position

The Carnival of the Animals – No. 13 “The Swan” – No. 14 “Finale” / Camille Saint-Saëns (Le Carnaval des animaux / C. Saint-Saëns)

Saint-Saëns was a French composer of the late Romantic era.

He was a precocious genius who entered the Paris Conservatory at the age of 13.

The Carnival of the Animals is often performed by orchestra or chamber ensemble, but in piano performances it is most commonly played as a duet for four hands.

Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78, ‘with organ’ — Movement II, Part IICamille Saint-Saëns11rank/position

Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3, Movement II, Part 2 — Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Hikotaro Yazaki

The work completed in 1886 by French composer Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns is characterized by a powerful fusion of organ and orchestra.

Saint-Saëns displayed musical talent from an early age, giving his first public performance at the age of five.

While upholding the traditions of Romantic music, this piece pursues innovative expression through a novel instrumental arrangement.

The majestic resonance of the organ interwoven with the orchestra’s brilliant melodies leaves a profound impression on listeners.

It is a highly recommended piece for anyone wishing to fully savor the allure of classical music.

The Carnival of the Animals, No. 13: The SwanCamille Saint-Saëns12rank/position

Dai Miyata / Saint-Saëns: The Swan (Le Cygne)

A celebrated work by Camille Saint-Saëns, based on a melody from the suite Le Carnaval des animaux.

Originally conceived as one of the pieces in a suite intended as entertainment for Carnival in early 1886, it was the only movement the composer allowed to be published during his lifetime.

The flowing melody played by the cello evokes the elegant figure of a swan gliding over the water and conjures the dreamlike imagery of the legendary “swan song.” The ballet The Dying Swan, created by Anna Pavlova in 1905 to this music, is renowned worldwide, and figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu’s exhibition performance to the piece also moved many audiences.

This is a piece for those who want to immerse themselves in the beautiful tone of the cello—a sound that seems to make you forget the summer heat and refresh the spirit.

C. Saint-Saëns “Henry VIII” in 4 Acts, Imperial Theatre of Compiègne (France), 1991, Part 2/2Camille Saint-Saëns13rank/position

C. Saint-Saëns “Henry VIII” in 4 Acts, Imperial Theatre of Compiègne (France), 1991, Part 2/2

Henry VIII is an opera by Camille Saint-Saëns, born in 1835, a French composer who was also a pianist and organist.

The work incorporates a great deal of church music—a specialty of Saint-Saëns, who served as a church organist—and its majestic choral and orchestral sonorities are moving and praised alongside its arias.

The Dying SwanCamille Saint-Saëns14rank/position

The Dying Swan – Natalia Osipova (The Royal Ballet)

The masterpiece The Carnival of the Animals, composed by Camille Saint-Saëns.

The Dying Swan is a world-renowned piece choreographed by Mikhail Fokine to the movement The Swan from The Carnival of the Animals for the great ballerina Anna Pavlova.

As a short work of about four minutes, it places a strong emphasis on the ballerina’s expressive abilities.

It is a wonderful piece of ballet music on its own, but I believe you will enjoy it even more when seen together with the dance.

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