The Carnival of the Animals and xylophone. From the beginning, Saint-Saëns regarded the work as a piece of fun. On 9 February 1886 he wrote to his publishers Durand in Paris that he was composing a work for the coming Shrove Tuesday, and confessing that he knew he should be working on his Third Symphony, but that this work was "such fun" (). He had apparently intended to write the work for his students at the École Niedermeyer, but it was first performed at a private concert given by the cellist Charles Lebouc on Shrove Tuesday, 9 March 1886. A second (private) performance was given
Carnival of Basel or priests' carnival) and was observed by those members of the higher echelons of society. The second, one week later at the old time, was known as the "Bauernfasnacht" (farmers' carnival). Afterwards, only this second carnival was celebrated in Basel. Today, the Carnival of Basel is said to be "the only Protestant carnival in the world". In 2017 the UNESCO added the Carnival of Basel to the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Carnival of Basel The Carnival of Basel () is the biggest carnival in Switzerland and takes place annually between February and March in Basel. It has been listed