Piano Concerto (Poulenc)

The Piano Concerto in C sharp minor, FP 146 is a concert by the French composer Francis Poulenc .

Emergence

Francis Poulenc wrote his piano concerto in 1950. It can therefore be classified as part of the composer's late work and was written 12 years after the organ concerto . The work is characterized by simple harmony and spontaneous melodies. Its conception is somewhat reminiscent of the 2nd Piano Concerto by Dmitri Shostakovich . According to Poulenc, other sources of inspiration were the piano concertos of his French compatriot Camille Saint-Saëns . Poulenc received the commission for this work from the Symphony Orchestra in Boston in 1949 , where it was finally performed.

To the music

1st movement: Allegretto

The main movement of the concert begins with a simple, song-like melody in the solo piano with gentle orchestral accompaniment. The sound is somewhat reminiscent of Dmitri Shostakovich's piano concertos . The postscript is introduced by the strings and continued by the piano; it is of a lyrical character and brings out the second theme, a dance-like thought. From this a rambling idea develops which combines elements of film music and romanticism . It ends in a passage that is characterized by great magnificence. The piano plays some full major chords of classical harmony, which are answered by fanfares from the brass. This event is repeated. There follows a shortened repetition of the beginning of the concert, which leads to the end of the movement with a few major chords.

2nd movement: Andante con moto

The Andante begins with a lyrical theme in the violins to gently swaying accompaniment from the winds. It is somewhat reminiscent of George Gershwin's Piano Concerto . The solo piano then picks up the violin melody. Suddenly rising drama in the orchestra is accompanied by fast upward scales on the piano. As usual for Poulenc's music, different character images alternate in quick succession. A forte throw in by the orchestra is picked up by the piano and brought to the climax of the movement. The movement fades away with the slow main theme at the beginning.

3rd movement: Rondeau à la francaise

The short final rondo begins with the A theme performed by the solo piano. It is cheerful and fast-paced. The following interjections, which represent the B and C parts of the rondo, are very similar in character to the main theme and are all designed from its thematic material. The movement fades away almost casually with two woodwind notes on a sloping piano scale.

effect

The piano concerto premiered on January 6, 1950 in Boston , the composer sat at the piano and Charles Munch conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra . Although the audience thoroughly enjoyed the work, it is one of Poulenc's lesser-performed works today and, despite its undoubted qualities, is performed relatively rarely.