Camille Saint-Saëns, who set out to preserve the French character in music, assigned the cello a variety of very different tasks, ranging from the floating cantilene of «The Swan» from «Carnival of the Animals» to the two virtuoso solo concertos. The second cello concerto in particular has enjoyed popular success for some time. Taking the solo part in Grafenegg is the versatile French musician Jean-Guihen Queyras, following some short musical impressions from China. The pace picks up again to close with Rimsky-Korsakov's great Russian symphony «Sheherazade», whose oriental splendour goes beyond national attributions.