Camille Saint-Saens
Camille Saint-Saens, who was born in Paris in 1835, at the height of the Romantic era, and died in Algiers in 1921, has remained a classic composer against all odds. A child prodigy, he gave his first concert at the age of 11. He enrolled in the Conservatoire de Paris in 1848, where he studied organ and composition. Saint-Saens enjoyed extraordinary fame from the 1860s. He composed symphonies and concertos for violin and piano, as well as symphonic poems. He wrote a dozen operas, the best known of which is unquestionably Samson and Delilah (1877). A friend of Prince Albert I, he wrote, at the latter’s request, the Overture de Féte, which he played at the official opening of the Monaco Oceanographic Museum in 1910.
Issue Date:26.02.2021 Designer:Elsa Catelin Process:Steel-Engraving and Offset Size:40,85 x 30 mm horizontal
The Kiel Regatta
Driven by his duty as an advocate for peace, Prince Albert I, who had been made aware of the risks of a deterioration in relations between France and Germany, began participating in the Kiel Regatta from 1898 onwards. The Regatta was a sporting event that attracted members of high society, but it was also — and above all — an opportunity for diplomacy. Prince Albert I was often accompanied to the event by French politicians in a bid to promote informal discussions with Emperor Wilhelm II and to try to bring the two nations closer together. The friendship between Albert I and the Kaiser was based on their shared passion: marine science. In a coincidence of timing, the two men were together, during the middle of the Kiel Regatta, when they learned about the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife on 28 June 1914.
Issue Date:26.02.2021 Designer:Martin Mörck Process:Steel-Engraving and Offset Size:40,85 x 30 mm horizontal
