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Mon, 27 Feb 2006
Poulenc concerto
Francis Poulenc
Concerto for Two Pianos in D minor*
Piano Concerto
Aubade (concerto choreographique pour piano et 18 instruments)
CD, Apex
Francois-Rene Duchable piano
Jean-Philippe Collard piano*
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
James Conlon conductor
Recorded in De Doelen, Rotterdam, June and October 1984
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) was born in Paris and received his initial
piano tuition from his mother, an amateur pianist. Despite spending
lots of time in the Loire valley to find the solitude he much preferred
city life to the countryside. He was called to military service twice,
the first time being in early 1918, during which he served a ten-day
sentence in military prison for overstaying a leave in his beloved
Paris. An open homosexual, he had his first relationship with the
painter, Richard Chanelaire. Poulenc was described by the critic Claude
Rostand in a Paris-Presse article (July 1950) as being Òhalf bad boy,
half monk.Ó His musical output is diverse and shows a large range of
influences Ð one of the defining features of his music. These
influences include Stravinsky, Satie and Chabrier. He was refused a
place at the Paris Conservatoire by the composition teacher Paul Vidal
who said ÒYour work stinksÉ Ah! I see youÕre a follower of the
Stravinsky and Satie gang. Well, goodbye!Ó When Stravinsky heard of
this, he arranged for works by Poulenc to be printed by Chester Music.
Posterity has shown which of these two composers (Vidal and Poulenc) has
been more noted in the history of music anyhow, mainly by the fact that
Poulenc was included in the formidable ÒLes Six.Ó He wrote over 150
French art songs, set to the words of many avant-garde poets such as
Guillaume Apollinaire and Paul Eluard, with whom he was friends.
The second piano concerto was composed in 1932 and can be described as
being pure entertainment. The mood is generally fun and light, with
sparkling solo parts, executed brilliantly by both pianists with vigour,
blending extremely well. The concerto for piano, composed in 1949, has
(in addition to the usual piano concerto pyrotechnics) sumptuous,
unforgettable melodies (this is one of my favourites) that Duchable
plays with both impressive technical ability and artistic sensibility.
The same can be said for Aubade, composed in 1929, which is a unique
concerto (hinted at in its title) for 18 instruments; basically for solo
piano and chamber orchestra, originally commissioned as a ballet. It
can almost be seen as programme music, in the fact that its subject is
of DianaÕs chastity and solitude, with Poulenc saying himself: ÒAt
daybreak, surrounded by her companions, Diana rebels against the divine
law condemning her to eternal purity. Her companions console her, and
restore her sense of divinity by presenting her with a bow.
Sorrowfully, Diana seizes it, then bounds into the forest, seeking, in
the hunt, a derivative to her amorous torrents.Ó In this track, you get
a real sense of the chamber music ensemble between the members of the
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (soloists in their own right in this
case) and the pianist, admirably directed by James Conlon.
M.North
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