Composer: Gabriel Urbain Fauré, Francis Poulenc
Performer: Romain Descharmes
Orchestra: Malmö Opera Orchestra
Conductor: Michael Halász
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Naxos
Catalogue: 8574570
Release: 2024
Size: 1.21 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Fauré: Ballade in F sharp major for solo piano or piano & orchestra, Op. 19
Poulenc: Piano Concerto in C sharp minor, FP 146 (1949)
02. I. Allegretto
03. II. Andante con moto. Commencer très calmement
04. III. Rondeau a la française. Presto giocoso
05. Fauré: Fantaisie in G Major, Op. 111
Poulenc: Aubade, FP 51
06. Toccata
07. Les Compagnes de Diane
08. Diane et compagnes – Entrée de Diane – Sortie de Diane
09. Toilette de Diane
10. Introduction à la Variation de Diane
11. Variation de Diane
12. Désespoir de Diane
13. Adieux et départ de Diane
There are fruitful contrasts in the works for piano and orchestra of these two French composers. Gabriel Fauré’s Ballade in F sharp major is graceful and serene but ends with a Lisztian flourish, whereas his neglected Fantaisie, though modestly orchestrated, is distinctive and characterful. Francis Poulenc, himself a gifted pianist, wrote his Piano Concerto for the Boston Symphony during his second American tour in 1949, full of alluring melodies and seductive orchestral colour. The ballet Aubade was composed for piano and 18 instruments with a scenario by Poulenc himself. It foreshadows the concerto while also revealing a Stravinskian influence.