Saint-Saëns wrote the "Carnival of the Animals" as a distraction while composing his "Symphony No. 3". "Carnival" was performed at a small gathering of friends. Saint-Saëns did not want the general public to hear it, because he did not want to be thought of as someone who wrote jokey pieces. He wanted to be thought of as a serious composer. Just one movement was published during his lifetime: the famous Swan movement for solo cello. The rest of the work was not performed until a year after Saint-Saëns’ death.