Saint-Saëns was renowned both as a composer of sacred and theatrical works and as a virtuoso pianist and organist. A child prodigy, he gave his début piano performance at the Pleyel Salon, a venue favoured by many great pianist-composers, including Chopin. Afterwards, leading critics praised his remarkable talent and foresaw a brilliant future for him, with some even drawing comparisons to Mozart. Encouraged by this acclaim, Saint-Saëns pursued further study, attending composition classes taught by Halévy at the Paris Conservatoire as an auditeur for a year. Over the course of his career, he contributed to every 19th-century musical genre. His keen interest in earlier music also led him to revive several 17th-century French dance forms, including the bourrée, gavotte, and menuet… [272 more words]