Romance in F major Op.36 (1874)

Although the Romance in F is officially designated as “for horn or cello”, it is quite clear from the scoring that the Romance in F was conceived for horn: if Saint-Saëns had been thinking of cello rather than horn, the solo part would have been quite different, with more variety in colour and a more elaborately detailed line covering a wider range. There is nothing that a horn can do and a cello cannot do, however, and and when it comes to carrying a lyrical melodic line like that of the Romance in F the cello is unsurpassable, just as it is effective as any instrument in applying pressure like that of the dramatic exchange with the piano in the middle of the piece.