Flute Sonata (Poulenc)

Flute Sonata (Poulenc)

The Flute Sonata by Francis Poulenc, or Sonata for Flute and Piano, was written in 1957. Poulenc composed it for the flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal, and he and Rampal gave the première in June 1957 at the Strasbourg Festival. It is dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, an American patron of chamber music. It is now one of Poulenc's best known works and is a prominent feature in 20th century flute repertoire.

History

Sources indicate that Poulenc had had the idea to compose a flute sonata for a long time, which can be dated back to the year 1952 in a letter to the baritone Pierre Bernac. Throughout the next few years, Poulenc had intended to resume the work as stated in his letters to his publisher in 1953, 1955 and 1956.

However, it is unknown whether this planned sonata is directly related to the published sonata. In April 1956, Harold Spivacke, a spokeperson for the Coolidge Foundation at the Library of Congress, wrote a letter to Poulenc offering a commission for a piece of chamber music for a festival going to take place in October 1956. Poulenc declined the commission soon as he was just finishing the orchestration of his new opera and the première in Milan was too close. Spivacke again offered the commission in May, and this time Poulenc responded in August when he noted that the opera was in order and he could write something for him. He suggested the Sonata for Flute and Piano, provided that he could reserve the première for the Strasbourg Festival in June 1957.

Jean-Pierre Rampal learnt about the sonata in a phone call from Poulenc. The occasion was marked in his autobiography:

"Jean-Pierre," said Poulenc: "you know you've always wanted me to write a sonata for flute and piano? Well, I'm going to,' he said. 'And the best thing is that the Americans will pay for it! I've been commissioned by the Coolidge Foundation to write a chamber piece in memory of Elizabeth Coolidge. "I" never knew her, so I think the piece is yours."

Poulenc wrote the piece in Cannes between December 1956 and March 1957, and the completed manuscript was mailed to the Library of Congress on 7 June 1957. On 17 June 1957, an unofficial première was given at the Strasbourg Festival by the composer and Rampal - with only one audience member, Arthur Rubinstein, who requested to hear it one day before the official première as he was going to leave before it.

On 16 January 1958, Poulenc played the work with Gareth Morris in a broadcast on BBC. The American première took place in the Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congree on 14 February 1958. It was reported to be a rousing success.

Music

The sonata is in three movements:

#"Allegretto malinconico"
#"Cantilena: Assez lent"
#"Presto giocoso"

References

*Poulenc, Francis; Schmidt, Carl B.; & Harper, Patricia (Ed.) (1994) "Sonata for Flute and Piano". Chester Music. ISBN 0-7119-4398-2.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Flute sonata — A flute sonata is a sonata usually for flute and piano, though occasionally other accompanying instruments may be used. Flute sonatas in the Baroque period were very often accompanied in the form of basso continuo.List of Flute Sonatas*George… …   Wikipedia

  • Clarinet Sonata (Poulenc) — Francis Poulenc s Sonata for clarinet and piano (FP 184) dates from 1962 and is one of the last pieces he completed. The piece is dedicated to the memory of an old friend, the Swiss composer Arthur Honegger, who like Poulenc had belonged to the… …   Wikipedia

  • Oboe Sonata (Poulenc) — The Sonata for oboe and piano by Francis Poulenc dates from 1962. It is his opus number 185 and is dedicated to the memory of Sergei Prokofiev. According to many oboists, the last movement Déploration was the last piece he wrote before he died.… …   Wikipedia

  • Flute repertory — is the general term for pieces composed for flute (particularly Western concert flute) and often played by flutists (or flautists). The following lists are not intended to be complete, but rather to present a representative sampling of the most… …   Wikipedia

  • Sonate pour flûte et piano de Poulenc — La Sonate pour flûte et piano de Francis Poulenc est une œuvre de musique de chambre de 1957, dédiée à la mémoire de Madame Sprague Coolidge, avec la collaboration du flûtiste Jean Pierre Rampal. Elle a été composée entre décembre 1956 et mars… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sonata para flauta y piano (Poulenc) — La Sonata para flauta y piano del compositor francés Francis Poulenc fue escrita en 1957. Está dedicada a la memoria de Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, una mecenas estadounidense de música de cámara. Poulenc la compuso para el flautista Jean Pierre… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Francis Poulenc — Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (IPA2|fʀɑ̃sis ʒɑ̃ maʀsɛl pulɛ̃k; January 7, 1899–January 30, 1963) was a French composer and a member of the French group Les Six. He composed music in all major genres, including art song, chamber music, oratorio,… …   Wikipedia

  • Violin sonata — A violin sonata is a musical composition for solo violin, which is nearly always accompanied by a piano or other keyboard instrument, or by figured bass in the Baroque period.Some violin sonatas, notably those by Mozart and early Beethoven, are… …   Wikipedia

  • Sonate pour flûte — Une sonate pour flûte est un duo de musique de chambre qui associe généralement une flûte et un piano bien que d autres instruments puissent occasionnellement être associés à la flûte. Les sonates pour flûte de la période baroque étaient très… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Concerto for two pianos (Poulenc) — Francis Poulenc s Concerto for two pianos in D minor, FP 61, was commissioned by and dedicated to the Princess Edmond de Polignac and composed over the period of three months in the summer of 1932. The work has three movements: Allegro ma non… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”