Poulenc Piano Concerto
Prokofiev Symphony No. 7
Poulenc Stabat mater

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor
Alexandre Tharaud piano
Kate Royal soprano
London Philharmonic Choir

Poulenc’s imagination knew few bounds and reached one of its many peaks in his charming Piano Concerto. Here was a composer who combined the grace and simplicity of popular French song with the caustic wit and satirical mimicry that was rife in 20th-century Paris, all of which punches through the high-jinks of this gregarious concerto. Poulenc, though, claimed that ‘the best and most genuine part of myself’ was to be found in his sacred music. After the mood-pictures of Prokofiev’s Seventh Symphony we hear Poulenc’s setting of the 13th-century poem of mourning and salvation, the Stabat mater, which is gifted music of intense poise, intricacy and spirituality by the composer.

Free pre-concert event
6.15–6.45pm | Royal Festival Hall
Dr Caroline Potter from Kingston University looks at the life and works of Francis Poulenc.

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Hear it first!
Select a link below to listen to selected movements from this concert (Flash Player opens in a new window).

Poulenc: Piano Concerto - I. Allegretto
Poulenc: Piano Concerto - III. Rondo a la francaise
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 7 in C sharp minor - III. Andante espressivo
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 7 in C sharp minor - IV. Vivace
Poulenc: Stabat mater - Stabat mater dolorosa
Poulenc: Stabat mater - Vidit suum
Poulenc: Stabat mater - Fac ut portem

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