Flute Sonata (Poulenc)
|
Sonate pour flûte et piano Flute Sonata |
|
|---|---|
| Chamber music by Francis Poulenc | |
| Catalogue | FP 164 |
| Composed | 1957 |
| Dedication | Memory of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge |
The Sonate pour flûte et piano (Flute Sonata), FP 164, by Francis Poulenc, for flute and piano, was written in 1957. It is dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, an American patron of chamber music. Poulenc composed it for the flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal, and he and Rampal gave the première in June 1957 at the Strasbourg Music Festival. It is now one of Poulenc's best known works and is a prominent feature in 20th century flute repertoire.
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 spokesperson 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 learned 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."
...
Wikipedia