Maurice Ravel's Tzigane was a deliberate provocation to Béla Bartók, as Bartók detested what he considered inauthentic Gypsy music.
Composer Biography
Poulenc's Rapsodie nègre, written at age eighteen, used dadaistic nonsense-texts and, while it barred him from the Paris Conservatory, it attracted the interest of Stravinsky and Satie.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Francis Poulenc, a member of Les Six, found his style by rejecting romantic exaggeration and impressionism, aligning himself with the unpretentious Satie.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded in June 2017 at MC2: Grenoble, a venue with a 13,000 m³ auditorium capable of seating 1000 spectators.
Composition History
Béla Bartók's two violin sonatas were inspired by Jelly d'Aranyi, the grand-niece of Joseph Joachim, after Bartók had experienced a creative crisis.
Compositional Technique
Despite its tragic dedication, Poulenc's Violin Sonata includes quotes from 'Tea for Two,' an American jazz standard prohibited during the German Occupation, as a silent protest.
Composition History
Poulenc's Violin Sonata, Op. 119, was dedicated to the memory of Spanish poet Federico Garcia-Lorca, who was murdered by fascists.
