Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) was a musical pioneer who as a child prodigy astonished Paris, and in the 1860s introduced France to the then radical works of Liszt and Schumann. His Violin Concerto No.3 in B minor Op.61 (1880) is regarded as his finest work in the genre: a large-scale, three-movement composition combining lyrical warmth with brilliant virtuosity. The shorter works include two Caprices — the Caprice d'après l'Étude en forme de Valse Op.52 and the Caprice andalous Op.122 — alongside the Prélude from 'Le déluge' Op.45 for strings, the Valse-Caprice Op.76 for piano and strings, and the Allegro appassionato Op.70. Jean-Jacques Kantorow is both violin soloist and conductor.