Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This book provides the fullest account yet to appear in English of the composer's long life and huge musical output. The struggle for recognition, the crucial role played in the formation of a French national school after 1871, his controversial views on such questions as modern music and the influence of Wagner, his character and outlook are extensively discussed, with analysis and comment on the principal compositions.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

A thoroughly traditional, nuts-and-bolts treatment of Saint-Saens (1835-1921), this "critical" biography describes many of the composer's works, offers occasional value judgments, but lacks technical analysis and contemplation of deeper issues. This is not necessarily a drawback. Although Studd gives less attention to Saint-Saens' contemporary political (domestic and European) and social context and provides less sense of the composer's inner life than does Brian Reese (Camille Saint-Sa"ens: A Life, CH, Jan'00), his focus on Saint-Sa"ens the individual, his music, and his career is both intentional and successful. The organization is clear, the sequence of events and connections among them are neatly drawn, and the writing is usually vigorous. Quotations are fully sourced. The book is also valuable for its inclusion in appendixes of extended selections from Saint-Saens' essays and poetry, its works list organized by genre, its select discography citing both currently available recordings and important historical ones, and its select bibliography. For upper-division undergraduates and general readers who are fans of the composer. J. McCalla; Bowdoin College