Francis Poulenc - Concertos (Maurice Duruflé; Gabriel Tacchino)

Information

Composer: Francis Poulenc

CD1:

• Concerto for organ, timpani and strings in G minor, FP 93
• Litanies à la Vierge Noire, for women's chorus & organ, FP 82
• Piano Concerto in C sharp minor, FP 146
• Concert champêtre, for harpsichord & orchestra, FP 49

CD2:

• Concerto for 2 pianos & orchestra in D minor, FP 61
• Aubade, concerto choréographique for piano & 18 instruments, FP 51
• Les biches (The Does), ballet, FP 36

Maurice Duruflé, organ

Gabriel Tacchino, piano

Aimée van de Wiele, harpsichord

Jacques Février & Francis Poulenc, pianos

Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire

Philharmonia Orchestra

Georges Prêtre & Pierre Dervaux, conductors

Date: 1957-1980

Label: EMI Classics

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Francis Poulenc (7 January 1899 – 30 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. He was one of a group of young composers known collectively as Les Six. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-known are the ballet Les biches (1923), the Concert champêtre (1928), and the Organ Concerto (1938). In addition to his work as a composer, Poulenc was an accomplished pianist. He toured in Europe and America with the baritone Pierre Bernac and the soprano Denise Duval, and made a number of recordings.

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Maurice Duruflé (11 January 1902 – 16 June 1986) was a French composer and organist. He studied with Charles Tournemire, Eugène Gigout, Paul Dukas, and was also an assistant to Louis Vierne at Notre-Dame. Duruflé was titular organist of St-Étienne-du-Mont in Paris from 1929 to the end of his life. In 1939, he premiered Francis Poulenc's Organ Concerto which he had advised the composer on the organ part. Duruflé was Professor of Harmony at the Conservatoire de Paris, where his pupils include Jean Guillou and Marie-Claire Alain. As a composer, he was musically conservative and highly critical of his own compositions.

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Gabriel Tacchino (4 August 1934 – 29 January 2023) was a French classical pianist and teacher. He was born in Cannes and studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Jacques Février and Marguerite Long. He also studied with Francis Poulenc, the only pianist ever to do so. Herbert von Karajan was instrumental in Tacchino getting his break, by engaging him to play with various orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic. He also performed under conductors such as Pierre Monteux, André Cluytens, Jascha Horenstein, Riccardo Muti and Kent Nagano. His recordings can be found on labels such as Erato and Pierre Verany.

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