Havanaise Op. 83

In November 1885 Camille Saint-Saëns set out on a concert tour with the Cuban violinist Diaz Albertini to the north of France on his way to Germany. On a cold and damp evening, the crackling of an open fire in a dreary hotel supposedly gave him the melodic idea for the concert habanera Havanaise, written two years later, and dedicated it to Albertini. Saint-Saëns later orchestrated the piece.