- Poulenc’s Concert champêtre (“country concerto”) for harpsichord and orchestra was written between 1927-28 and was inspired by the playing of Polish harpsichordist Wanda Landowska. Poulenc also dedicated the work to Landowska.1
- In many ways, the piece harkens back to the Baroque era, a time in which the harpsichord reigned supreme, and evokes the music of Couperin and Rameau.2
- Concert champêtre received its public premiere in 1929 Salle Pleyel in Paris with the Orchestre Symphonique de Paris conducted by Pierre Monteux.
- Fun fact – the program for the premiere also included Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 4, Brahms’ Hayden Variations, and Liszt’s Les Préludes.3
Sources
- Myriam Chimènes and Roger Nichols, “Poulenc, Francis,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed January 11, 2023, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000022202.
- Essay in accompanying booklet, Poulenc: Organ Concerto / Concert Champetre performed by Elisabeth Chojnacka and the Lille National Orchestra conducted by Jean-Claude Casadesus, Naxos 8.554241, 1999, compact disc.
- Georg Predota, “Poulenc: Concert champêtre Premiered Today in 1929,” Interlude (2018), accessed January 11, 2023, https://interlude.hk/poulenc-concert-champetrepremiered-today-1929/.
Cut IDs
42589 17782 24927