Camille Saint-Saens composed The Carnival of the Animals and then refused to let it be published or performed during his lifetime. He considered it too frivolous for his reputation as a serious composer. The piece he was most ashamed of became the work he is most remembered for — a final joke at the expense of a man who took himself too seriously.

This episode traces Saint-Saens from his childhood as a prodigy who rivaled Mozart through his decades as France’s most respected living composer, his bitter rivalries, and the masterpiece he tried to suppress.

• He forbade public performance of The Carnival of the Animals during his lifetime, allowing only “The Swan” to be played
• He was a child prodigy who gave his first public piano recital at age ten and entered the Paris Conservatoire at thirteen
• He composed the first film score in history, for the 1908 film The Assassination of the Duke of Guise
• He lived to eighty-six and remained prolific, composing in virtually every musical genre from opera to chamber music