Regarded by the French press as both a revolutionary and a reactionary in his lifetime, Camille Saint-Saëns’ (1833-1921) strong belief in instrumental music in a France dominated by opera led to frequent criticism of his always finely crafted and meticulous work. The trio of two-piano works featured here, recorded in the late 1990’s by the young twin-sisters Ferhan & Ferzan Önder, includes Saint-Saëns’ most popular, entertaining and oft-performed work “Carnival of the Animals”.