Saint-Saëns composed “La Jeunesse d‘Hercule” in winter 1876/77 and the premiere took place on 28 January 1877 conducted by Édouard Colonne. The fable, taken from Xenophon’s “Memorabilia”, narrates how at his entry into life Hercules was faced with the choice of two paths: that of pleasure and that of virtue. Untouched by the blandishments of nymphs and bacchantes, the hero embarks on a life of struggle and combat at the end of which he has a vision, through the flames of his funeral pyre, of the reward of immortality.
With his four symphonic poems, Camille Saint-Saëns placed himself firmly in the tradition of Hector Berlioz and Franz Liszt. The first critical editions offer an opportunity for new interpretations based on authoritative primary sources.