The Carnival of the Animals

            
The composition consists of 13 movements which describe, in a funny and ironic way, the characteristics of some animals.
The first one is preceded by a brief introduction; after the last one, Saint-Saëns puts a Final, which happily concludes this funny gallery of characters. The author, together with the animals, also fits the caricature of the characters (pianists and music critics) related to his activities as a performer and composer.

Some of the musical themes that Saint-Saens uses are not original but they are taken from pieces by other composers. The execution is intrusted to a small group of instruments: two pianos, two violins, a viola, a cello, a bass, a flute, a piccolo, a clarinet, a glass harmonica, a xylophone.