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
Universal (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark album) to Far Away" and "If You're Still in Love with Me". Erstwhile McCluskey collaborator Karl Bartos (formerly of Kraftwerk) co-wrote "The Moon & the Sun". Stephen Thomas Erlewine in AllMusic remarked: ""Universal" is a rote collection of synth-pop and dance-pop from OMD, demonstrating only a fraction of the sophisticated craft that made its predecessor "Liberator" enjoyable, and none of the adventurous spirit of their '80s records." "Trouser Press" wrote that "the album quickly settles into the type of pop OMD has offered since [1985's] "Crush"" and is "enjoyable enough for what it is". Universal (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark album)