Camille Saint-Saëns, also known as the "French Beethoven," is a French composer of the Romantic era widely recognized for his symphonic poems. Saint-Saëns was one of the greatest composers France had ever made, from The Swan in Carnival of the Animals to his Organ Symphony. Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was born in Paris in 1835, while her widow and aunt raised him and introduced the young Camille to the piano. At the age of two, the child was a real prodigy, displaying flawless pitch. At five years, he gave his first public concert with a piano violin sonata from Beethoven.

The young Saint-Saëns at the Conservatoire de Paris studied organ and composition. He received several top awards and was finally introduced to Franz Liszt, who became one of his best friends and fans. Liszt described Saint-Saëns as the most popular organist worldwide. The great intelligence of the composer was not all music. He was highly involved in geology, botany, butterfly, and mathematics and understood them. He spoke to the best scientists in Europe and authored several scholarly papers on acoustics. In 1908, Saint-Saëns produced a score for the first time in film history. The film, The Assassination of the Duke of Guise, was produced by actors who often convinced well-known stage actresses to appear in their films to gain viewers' acceptance and admiration. The composer Maurice Ravel often created his music into a concert piece - the Opus 128 for string orchestra, piano, and harmonium.