Saint-Saëns: Le carnaval des animaux / Poulenc: Les animaux modèles / Milhaud: La Création du Monde

Proverbially idiomatic, Georges Prêtre conducts four works that typify the special charm, wit and sensuousness so often found in French music from the belle époque to the mid-20th century: Saint-Saëns "grand zoological fantasy" Le Carnaval des animaux (with Aldo Ciccolini and Alexis Weissenberg as the virtuosic captive pianists) is complemented by music for the ballet - Poulenc's elegant, discreetly erotic Les Biches and sumptuous Les Animaux modèles, and Milhaud's inventive, jazz-inflected La Création de Monde.