Francis Poulenc - Sonata for two Pianos [With score]

Описание: -Composer: Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (7 January 1899 – 30 January 1963)
-Performers: Pascal Rogé and Jean-Philippe Collard

Sonata for two Pianos FP 156, written in 1952-53

00:00 - I. Prologue. Extremement lent et calme
05:59 - II. Allegro molto. Très rythmé
11:06 - III. Andante lyrico. Lentement
17:23 - IV. Epilogue. Allegro giocoso

While extensive, Francis Poulenc's catalogue of music for the piano consists largely of miniatures and character pieces, both singly and in sets. Poulenc's Sonata for Piano Duo is one of the composer's most ambitious and substantial works for the instrument; as such, it has emerged as one of the standards of the two-piano repertoire.

Though Poulenc had written a Sonata for Piano Duet (that is, for two players at one instrument) in 1918, it wasn't until late in his career that he began to produce works for two pianos. He dedicated the Sonata for Piano Duo, completed in 1953, to the piano duo of Gold and Fizdale, who had long championed the composer's Concerto for Two Pianos (1932). While the Sonata is a serious and demanding work for audiences and performers alike, Poulenc's essential qualities as a composer are evident throughout; at no time does his musical language lapse into arcana.

The contrast between bustling movement and extraordinary calm is one of the hallmarks of the Sonata. The work contains a number of allusions to church bells -- not the clangorous peals of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, but evocations of a gentler sort, more like the suggestion of a village church. The first movement, marked Prologue, is assertive and passionate, almost Schumannesque. The central section provides a moment of quiet contrast, while a tolling effect in the coda brings the movement to its end. The Allegro Molto is a scherzo characterized by jaunty, agitated themes. The Trio starts dramatically, ultimately receding into ethereal quiet. The Andante Lyrico opens with a chorale that summons forth the sound of a carillon; this simple beginning builds with an ever-increasing weight. The sprightly, playful Epilogue rounds out the work with the kind of exuberant finish that is characteristic of Poulenc's multimovement works. The mood darkens as the movement pushes forward to a tragic climax; the gravity is dissipated, however, with a spirited burst at the conclusion.
[allmusic.com]