Carnival of the Animals

Did you know Saint-Saens refused to allow a performance of his “Carnival of the Animals” until after his death for he regarded it as a frivolous composition and he thought it would detract from his standing as a serious composer. 

 Of course, once it was performed it was an instant success and today is his best known and most popular work.
This afternoon we heard a virtuoso performance of it by the 
Willshire piano duo, James Willshire and Philippa Harrison, husband and wife   playing in Dunblane cathedral.

The concert, part of a series, organised by Dunblane Arts Guild, bring professional musicians regularly to perform in this medieval cathedral dating back to the 12thcentury.
The programme also included Tchaikovsky “Nutcracker Suite”, Debussy, and Rachmaninov Romance in G.