By the time Camille Saint-Saëns composed his Cello Concerto No. 1, in November 1872 at the age of thirty-seven, Saint-Saëns was highly regarded in French musical circles but had not yet written the works for which he is most famous today. The concerto is three short movements that run together and are seen as quite cohesive. In terms of the actual piece of music, rather than wait out an orchestral introduction, the soloist leaps into the fray from the beginning, spinning out rapid triplets. The work is rich in melodies that show off both the dramatic and the lyrical aspects of the cello. 

– James L. Keller
–Complied by Helen Hazard