Francis Poulenc: Articles and Interviews

Notes from the Heart

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Music, Music Styles, Classical & Opera, Chamber, Theory & Criticism, History & Criticism, Reference
Cover of the book Francis Poulenc: Articles and Interviews by Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols ISBN: 9781317133322
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: April 22, 2016
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols
ISBN: 9781317133322
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: April 22, 2016
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

’He plays the piano well,’ wrote the society hostess Mme de Saint-Marceaux in her diary on 18 March 1927. ’His compositions are not devoid of talent but he’s not a genius, and I’m afraid he thinks he is.’ Intelligent though the lady was, she got this one spectacularly wrong. Poulenc has in fact outpaced his colleagues in Les Six by many a mile, as singers and instrumentalists all over the world will attest, and while he would never have accepted the title of ’genius’, preferring ’artisan’, a genius is increasingly what he appears to have been. Part of the answer lay in always being his own man, and this independence of spirit shows through in his writings and interviews just as brightly as in his music, whether it’s boasting that he’d be happy never to hear The Mastersingers ever again, pointing out that what critics condemn as the ’formlessness’ of French music is one of its delights, voicing his outrage at attempts to ’finish’ the Unfinished Symphony, writing ’in praise of banality’ - or remembering the affair of Debussy’s hat. And in every case, his intelligence, humour and generosity of spirit help explain why he was so widely and deeply loved. This volume comprises selected articles from Francis Poulenc: J’écris ce qui me chante (Fayard, 2011) edited by Nicholas Southon. Many of these articles and interviews have not been available in English before and Roger Nichols's translation, capturing the very essence of Poulenc’s lively writing style, makes more widely accessible this significant contribution to Poulenc scholarship.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

’He plays the piano well,’ wrote the society hostess Mme de Saint-Marceaux in her diary on 18 March 1927. ’His compositions are not devoid of talent but he’s not a genius, and I’m afraid he thinks he is.’ Intelligent though the lady was, she got this one spectacularly wrong. Poulenc has in fact outpaced his colleagues in Les Six by many a mile, as singers and instrumentalists all over the world will attest, and while he would never have accepted the title of ’genius’, preferring ’artisan’, a genius is increasingly what he appears to have been. Part of the answer lay in always being his own man, and this independence of spirit shows through in his writings and interviews just as brightly as in his music, whether it’s boasting that he’d be happy never to hear The Mastersingers ever again, pointing out that what critics condemn as the ’formlessness’ of French music is one of its delights, voicing his outrage at attempts to ’finish’ the Unfinished Symphony, writing ’in praise of banality’ - or remembering the affair of Debussy’s hat. And in every case, his intelligence, humour and generosity of spirit help explain why he was so widely and deeply loved. This volume comprises selected articles from Francis Poulenc: J’écris ce qui me chante (Fayard, 2011) edited by Nicholas Southon. Many of these articles and interviews have not been available in English before and Roger Nichols's translation, capturing the very essence of Poulenc’s lively writing style, makes more widely accessible this significant contribution to Poulenc scholarship.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Ikujiro Nonaka's A Dynamic Theory of Organisational Knowledge Creation by Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols
Cover of the book The Fortress in the Age of Vauban and Frederick the Great 1660-1789 by Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols
Cover of the book Empirical Political Analysis by Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols
Cover of the book Irish Identities in Victorian Britain by Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols
Cover of the book Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Myanmar by Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols
Cover of the book Community, Space and Online Censorship by Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols
Cover of the book Participation Beyond the Ballot Box by Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols
Cover of the book The Year of Blood by Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols
Cover of the book Naturalism, Theism and the Cognitive Study of Religion by Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols
Cover of the book Russia in the National Interest by Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols
Cover of the book Including Children with Visual Impairment in Mainstream Schools by Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols
Cover of the book Logic, Form and Grammar by Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols
Cover of the book The Peacemaker’s Paradox by Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols
Cover of the book Will, Imagination, and Reason by Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols
Cover of the book The Idea of the Gentleman in the Victorian Novel by Nicolas Southon, Roger Nichols
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy