Background and Premiere

Poulenc had plans to write a Piano Concerto from around 1943, a fact revealed in letters to his friend, the singer Pierre Bernac, among other sources. However, actual composition only began in May 1949. The composition progressed from summer to autumn, completing in October of the same year. The premiere took place privately around the end of 1949, at the residence of the wife of the president of the music publisher Salabert. At this time, it was performed in a two-piano version by Jacques Février and Poulenc, rather than with orchestral accompaniment. Immediately thereafter, on December 28, Poulenc departed for an American concert tour with Bernac, and upon stopping in Boston after the New Year, he was asked by Charles Munch to give the public premiere of the Piano Concerto. Thus, the public premiere took place on January 6, 1950, with the composer as soloist, Munch conducting, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The work is dedicated to the soprano Denise Duval, whom Poulenc adored, and to Raymond Destouches.

Poulenc's Concerns

During the public premiere in Boston, Poulenc reportedly had some concerns about the local audience, who were “more accustomed to Sibelius and Bruckner than to his own style of work.” This was likely because Poulenc projected himself most strongly into this concerto at the time. Indeed, regarding the first movement, Poulenc stated it was in the “style of Poupoo (note: Poulenc's nickname) at 50,” and he recalled that the third movement “shocked” the audience at its Boston premiere “due to its impudence and mischievous aspects.”

First Movement: Allegretto

The first movement, “Allegretto,” adopts an A-B-C-A structure, with a two-part central section framed by the thematic exposition. The melancholic theme introduced by the piano is taken up by the orchestra, and after a tutti cadence, a brief transitional passage leads into the very light and contrasting B section. In the C section, ascending piano chord solos lead to repeated fanfares by the brass instruments. After the orchestral melody gently ascends and the music briefly pauses, it returns to the opening thematic section, the B section is recalled once, and the movement concludes with a fortissimo by all instruments.

Second Movement: Andante con moto

The second movement, “Andante con moto,” features a style where themes of various expressions are performed alternately by the orchestra and the piano solo. The repeated large leaps and continuous identical rhythms that form the opening theme are characteristic features often heard in Poulenc's melodies.

Third Movement: Rondeau à la française

The third movement, “Rondeau à la française,” can be described as a very free rondo form, to the extent that it is unpredictable which theme will appear next. The lightness of the third movement, common in Poulenc's formal works, is also evident in this concerto. It concludes with a rapidly descending melody in the piano.