New Selection: Piano Music by Francis Poulenc
MHS Staff
The MHS Review 401, VOL. 12, NO. 5• 1988
(FRANCIS POULENC (1899-1963)
Les soirees de Nazelles (1930-36)
Preambule
Cadence
Variations: Le comble de la distinction (The Height of Distinction); Le coeur sur la main (The Height of Distinction); a desinvolture et la discretion (Offhanded and Discreet); La suite dans les idees!(Single-mindedness?dedness); Le charme enjoleur (Seductive Charm); Le contentment de Soi (Self-satisfaction); Le gout du malheur (A Taste for Unhappiness); L'alerte viellesse (Sprightly Old Age).
Cadence
Final
Intermezzo in D-flat Major (1934)
Mouvements perpetuels (1918)
Melancolie (1941)
Napoli (1922-25)
Barcarolle
Nocturne
Caprice italien
The piano was a mainstay in Francis Poulenc's life. He once remarked, "When I recall my childhood, I see myself always sitting at a piano." Pianist Michael Boriskin, widely acclaimed as a compelling and versatile interpreter, is a natural choice to perform these works: Les soirees de Nazelles, Poulenc's largest solo piano work; the Intermezzo in D-flat, a portrait of a good friend of the composer, the gifted amateur singer Countess Marie-Blanche de Polignac; the early Mouvements perpetuels, Poulenc's first published solo piano work and one of his most popular compositions; Melancolie, the composer's longest single-movement composition, exhibiting his typical piano textures; and Napoli, conceived on a trip to Italy, with a finale that is a dazzling display piece.
(FRANCIS POULENC (1899-1963)
Les soirees de Nazelles (1930-36)
Preambule
Cadence
Variations: Le comble de la distinction (The Height of Distinction); Le coeur sur la main (The Height of Distinction); a desinvolture et la discretion (Offhanded and Discreet); La suite dans les idees!(Single-mindedness?dedness); Le charme enjoleur (Seductive Charm); Le contentment de Soi (Self-satisfaction); Le gout du malheur (A Taste for Unhappiness); L'alerte viellesse (Sprightly Old Age).
Cadence
Final
Intermezzo in D-flat Major (1934)
Mouvements perpetuels (1918)
Melancolie (1941)
Napoli (1922-25)
Barcarolle
Nocturne
Caprice italien
The piano was a mainstay in Francis Poulenc's life. He once remarked, "When I recall my childhood, I see myself always sitting at a piano." Pianist Michael Boriskin, widely acclaimed as a compelling and versatile interpreter, is a natural choice to perform these works: Les soirees de Nazelles, Poulenc's largest solo piano work; the Intermezzo in D-flat, a portrait of a good friend of the composer, the gifted amateur singer Countess Marie-Blanche de Polignac; the early Mouvements perpetuels, Poulenc's first published solo piano work and one of his most popular compositions; Melancolie, the composer's longest single-movement composition, exhibiting his typical piano textures; and Napoli, conceived on a trip to Italy, with a finale that is a dazzling display piece.