Travelling Man

Donald Macleod closes the week with Saint‑Saëns on the move, travelling to escape grief, restore his health and find new inspiration far from Paris. Today, he looks at the composer’s encounters abroad, from royal visits to quiet periods of solitude, and the ways in which unfamiliar landscapes, new friendships and long periods on the road fed back into his work.

Suite algérienne, Op. 60 – I. Prélude
Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana
Francis Travis, conductor

Étienne Marcel – Ballet Music: Entrée des écoliers et des ribaudes; Musette guerrière; Pavane; Valse
Residentie Orkest Den Haag
Jun Märkl, conductor

Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 33 – I. Allegro non troppo
Steven Isserlis, cello
London Symphony Orchestra
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor

Le carnaval des animaux
Isata Kanneh‑Mason, piano
Jeneba Kanneh‑Mason, piano
Braimah Kanneh‑Mason, violin
Ayla Sahin, violin
Timothy Ridout, viola
Sheku Kanneh‑Mason, cello
Toby Hughes, double bass
Adrian Spillett, xylophone
Adam Walker, flute
Alasdair Malloy, glass harmonica

Oboe Sonata in D major, Op. 166 – II. Ad libitum – Allegretto
Charles Hamann, oboe
Stéphane Lemelin, piano

Produced by Ellie Ajao for BBC Audio Wales and West.