Saint-Saens

Feb. 10. Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a musical prodigy who made his concert debut at the age of 10. After studying at the Paris Conservatoire he became a church organist, first at Saint-Merri, Paris and, at the ripe old age of 23, at La Madeleine, the official church of the French Empire.

You can hear Saint-Saëns’s treasured Symphony No. 3 Thursday, Feb. 16 in the Knobloch Campus Center-Duke Family Performance Hall at Davidson College. The performance by the Davidson College Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Marcus R. Pyle, is free.

It features organist Tomasz Robak.

A frequent orchestral keyboardist with the Charlotte Symphony, Robak has has received recognition in several piano competitions, including winning the Grand Prix at the 32nd Polish Tournament of Foreign Scholarship Holders in Antonin (2019), an Honorable Mention at the 1st International Chopin Competition in Turzno (2019), Second Prize at the International Beethoven Sonata Competition in Memphis (2013) and Second Place in the American Prize concerto category (2018).

The concert will include selections from two rarely performed operas—L’amant anonyme by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges and the stirring “Intermezzo” from Franz Schmidt’s opera, Notre Dame.

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