The two string quartets by Camille Saint-Saëns appear here in one volume for the first time. The String Quartet No. 1 in E Minor op. 112 (1899) numbers among the composer’s most successful pieces and is emblematic of the genre in the French repertoire. Here Saint-Saëns displays his fully developed mastery and presents the wealth of his inspiration and musical prowess. Only three years before his death, he surprisingly composed the String Quartet No. 2 in G major op. 153 (1918) which, with its classicistic stance, represents a homage to the masters of the late eighteenth century Viennese School.<br>
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In addition to the first critical edition of the two string quartets, this second volume of the “Oeuvres instrumentales completes” de Camille Saint-Saëns includes the first version of the final movement “Interlude et Final” from the second string quartet, the fragmentary beginning of an early work for string quartet as well as the previously unknown and unpublished Adagio from Symphony No. 2 in A Minor op. 55 for string quintet. An extensive Introduction (Fr/Eng/Ger) illuminates the genesis, historical performance and reception histories of all these pieces; the Critical Report (Fr) provides information about all the sources and their variants.<br>