🇫🇷Charles Camille Saint-Saëns ： Menuet et Valse in F-Dur Op.56

Saint-Saëns’s “Menuet et Valse” offers a contrast between a poised, composed minuet and a more lightly flowing waltz. In the minuet, it is important to maintain a clear sense of meter while allowing the melody to sing with elegance. In the waltz that follows, the performer should preserve the gentle sway of its dance-like triple meter without making the accompaniment heavy. Carefully distinguishing the character of the two sections and allowing natural breaths at the ends of phrases brings out the elegance and vitality within the work’s concise writing. The pedal should be used sparingly, in accordance with harmonic changes, so that the sound remains clear.