Danse macabre

The Danse macabre one of the most celebrated works of Camille Saint-Saëns and of the French symphonic repertoire in general. After the première on 24 January 1875, the work firmly established itself as an incontrovertible success. Arrangers-often famous names-soon adopted the Danse and the versions for various instruments multiplied.

Durand asked Giuseppe Gariboldi (1833-1905), an Italian flute virtuoso and composer living in Paris, to rework the piece for flute (or valve trumpet, violin, or cello) and piano. His Fantaisie-transcription is republished here in its cello version.