Precocious, brilliant, versatile, and prolific, Camille Saint-Saëns marshalled his musical talents to write works in a staggering number and variety of forms. As composer, performer, teacher, and conductor, he was a musical Renaissance man after the model of Mendelssohn. Though Saint-Saëns was regarded as a modernist in his youth, his tastes reverted to more traditional styles as he grew older; his later works clearly take a different direction—most often toward the lyric, polished forms of the Germanic tradition—than those of younger contemporaries such as Debussy and Ravel.

The Morceau de concert, written near the middle of the composer's long career, is of a rather conventional stripe. The first of the two movements is a skillful if unimaginative theme and variations. The second movement, less than two minutes long, features music of the type Brahms referred to as "durchkomponiert"— thoroughly composed. A brief cadenza-like passage allows the horn a display of virtuoso pyrotechnics.

Dedicated to the horn virtuoso Chaussier, who won the first prize at the Paris Conservatory in the year of work's composition, the Morceau de concert is slight enough that minimal preparation is necessary on the part of either orchestra or soloist; on the other hand, it is rather too lightweight as a virtuoso vehicle for an accomplished player. Still, as the agreeable work of a fine composer, the Morceau makes for an entertaining listening experience; lovers of solo works for the horn will find particular enjoyment therein.

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