1. Introduction et Marche royale du Lion (Introduction and Royal March of the Lion)

2. Poules et Coqs (Hens and Roosters)

3. Hémiones (animaux véloces)
   (Wild Asses (Swift Animals)

4. Tortues (Tortoises)

5. L'Éléphant (The Elephant)

6. Kangourous (Kangaroos)

7. Aquarium (Aquarium)

8. Personnages à longues oreilles (Characters with Long Ears)

9. Le Coucou au fond des bois
   (The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods)

10. Volière (Aviary)

11. Pianistes (Pianists)

12. Fossiles (Fossils)

13. Le Cygne (The Swan)

14. Final (Finale)

French composer Camille Saint-Saëns composed this suite in 1886 during a retreat in Austria, intending it as a private amusement for friends. Concerned it might tarnish his reputation as a serious composer, he forbade public performance during his lifetime. Published posthumously in 1922, it quickly became one of his most beloved works, with its humour expressed in forms of direct imitation of the animals, as well as snippets of musical quotations from his fellow composers. 

Each of the 14 movements is a musical description of one type of animal:

• I. Introduction and Royal March of the Lion
  Majestic marching figures and roaring scales at the bass imitating lion roaring.

• II. Hens and Roosters
  Pecking staccatos and clucking motifs.

• III. Wild Asses (Swift Animals)
  Rapid scales depict frantic galloping of dziggetai, a type of donkey.

• IV. Tortoises
  A slow-motion parody of Offenbach’s Can-Can (which is originally a very quick dance).

• V. The Elephant
  A lumbering double bass dances to a waltz, with quotes from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Berlioz’s Dance of the Sylphs. Both of the quoted pieces were originally written with high-pitched and light woodwinds playing the melody.

• VI. Kangaroos
  The chords are hopping up and down, with crescendo and diminuendo, accelerando and ritardando.

• VII. Aquarium
  Ethereal textures and glistening arpeggios, effectively portraying the shimmering water and creatures within.

• VIII. Characters with Long Ears
  In the original version, this movement was played by two violins only, portraying laughing donkeys. Some speculated Saint-Saëns was actually teasing music critics.

• IX. The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods
  Distant calls of cuckoo in the misty woods.

• X. Aviary
  Fluttering flutes and strings, effectively depicting birds flying around in the jungle.

• XI. Pianists
  Here Saint-Saëns was satirising pianists as animals. A tongue-in-cheek depiction of pianists practising scales. In the original edition of the score, the editor commented that the pianists should struggle playing the scales in sync.

• XII. Fossils
  Quoting old French nursery rhymes, such as Ah! vous dirai-je, maman (the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) and Au clair de la lune. In the original version, there was prominent use of xylophone, evoking the image of skeleton dancing. Here the shrill timbre is preserved with the percussive, high-pitched register in the piano.

• XIII. The Swan
  Arguably most famous melody by Saint-Saëns, the movement features a lyrical cello solo, serene and graceful. This was also the only movement from the entire set published in Saint-Saëns' lifetime.

• XIV. Finale
  A jubilant parade of all the animals. Motifs representing different animals taken from previous movements all join in, and lead to a joyful celebration in C major.

Saint-Saëns’s wit, charm, and effective orchestration is very well represented in this work (which himself dismissed as “unserious”). Originally written for 2 pianos and chamber ensemble, the ingenious arrangement by Makoto Goto captured very well the original orchestration within the palette of the piano.