Camille Saint-Saëns wrote two of the most popular pieces in the cello repertoire: his First Concerto in 1872 and The Swan in 1886.

This luscious and lyrical account of the concerto, with rich orchestral detail, comes with two works from the 20th century. One is the Second Cello Sonata of 1905 (“One of my glories,” said the composer, but “of a nature to frighten people away”).

The others are two movements of an altogether more spare sonata, which Saint-Saëns had to rewrite for a 1919 performance when an unfortunate performer left the music in a carriage, and of which only two movements now survive. They are recorded here for the first time to whet the appetite for what was lost. url.ie/55ay