Written in 1957, Francis Poulenc’s Sonata for Flute and Piano quickly became a staple of the flute repertoire. It traverses a lifetime of emotions in three brief movements. The first movement alternates between melancholy and grandiosity, while the finale is at turns boisterous (à la Moulin Rouge) and recollective. These frame a poignant cantilena, the figurative and literal heart of the work.
Poulenc himself premiered the sonata at the piano with the great flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal. It was commissioned in memory of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, who during her lifetime commissioned pieces by a “who’s who” of composers, including Béla Bartók (Fifth String Quartet), Maurice Ravel (Chansons madécasses), and Aaron Copland (Appalachian Spring). We owe our continued enjoyment of Poulenc’s sonata, alongside many other great works, directly to Coolidge. Notes by Timothy Hagen
Classical Music | Music for Flute
Francis Poulenc
Sonata for Flute and Piano Play
Recorded on 11/20/2019, uploaded on 04/24/2020
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
I. Allegretto malincolico
II. Cantilena: Assez lent
III. Presto giocoso
Written in 1957, Francis Poulenc’s Sonata for Flute and Piano quickly became a staple of the flute repertoire. It traverses a lifetime of emotions in three brief movements. The first movement alternates between melancholy and grandiosity, while the finale is at turns boisterous (à la Moulin Rouge) and recollective. These frame a poignant cantilena, the figurative and literal heart of the work.
Poulenc himself premiered the sonata at the piano with the great flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal. It was commissioned in memory of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, who during her lifetime commissioned pieces by a “who’s who” of composers, including Béla Bartók (Fifth String Quartet), Maurice Ravel (Chansons madécasses), and Aaron Copland (Appalachian Spring). We owe our continued enjoyment of Poulenc’s sonata, alongside many other great works, directly to Coolidge. Notes by Timothy Hagen
More music by Francis Poulenc
Sonata for Flute and Piano
Sonata for Cello and Piano
Hommage à Edith Piaf
Piano Concerto in C sharp minor, FP 146
Three Novelettes for piano
Mon cadavre est doux comme un gant, from Fiançailles pour rire
Les soirées de Nazelles
Fiançailles pour Rire
Les chemins de l'amour
Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra
Performances by same musician(s)
Nocturne-Lullaby
Fanmi Imèn
Capriccio in G Major, TWV 41:G5
Carmen Fantasy (after Bizet)
Classical Music for the Internet Era™
Courtesy of International Music Foundation.