- published: 30 Aug 2011
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Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃sis ʒɑ̃ maʁsɛl pulɛ̃k]) (7 January 1899 – 30 January 1963) was a French composer and a member of the French group Les Six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music. Critic Claude Rostand, in a July 1950 Paris-Presse article, coined the term "half monk, half thug" (translated by Ivry from "le moine et le voyou"), a phrase that would often be used to describe Poulenc.
Poulenc was born in Paris in 1899. His father Emile Poulenc was a second generation director of the Poulenc, and later Rhône-Poulenc, chemical corporation. His mother, an amateur pianist, taught him to play. He was introduced to Ricardo Viñes in 1914, a champion of the music of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, and became his pupil shortly afterwards. He was a capable pianist, and the keyboard dominated his early compositions.
In 1916 a childhood friend, Raymonde Linossier (1897-1930), introduced Poulenc to Adrienne Monnier's bookshop, the Maison des Amis des Livres. There he met avant-garde poets such as Guillaume Apollinaire, Max Jacob, Paul Eluard and Louis Aragon. He was to set many of their poems to music.
Francis Poulenc - Mélancolie
Francis Poulenc - Sonata for Oboe & Piano
Francis Poulenc - Sonata for Flute & Piano
Francis Poulenc - Novelettes
Poulenc - Sinfonietta (complete/full) / Nathalie Stutzmann
Francis Poulenc: STABAT MATER [complete version]
Gloria (Francis Poulenc)
Francis Poulenc - Sonata for violin & piano
Francis Poulenc Concerto in G minor for Organ Strings and Timpani
Pianoduo Mephisto - Francis Poulenc: Concerto for Two Pianos