Saint-Saëns’s quartets

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Saint-Saëns’s two quartets appeared late in his oeuvre: he only tackled the genre when he was over sixty (1899), and then returned to it at the end of his life (1918). Such an attitude was typical of a generation raised in the respect for Beethoven’s works, considering the genre as a summit that could only be attained in full possession of one’s means. However, confronting classicism did not mean imitating its forms, and Saint-Saëns thwarted expectations by banking on unpredictability, simplicity and rich harmony. “Until this necessary task was accomplished, I was afraid of leaving this world too soon, my mind was not at ease. Now everything is indifferent to me,” he wrote to his publisher upon completing his Quartet No. 1.