Sonata for Flute and Piano, FP 164 (Poulenc)
Movements
i Allegro malinconico, ii Cantilena: Assez lent, iii Presto giocoso
Notes
The Sonate pour flûte et piano, FP 164, by Francis Poulenc, is a three-movement work for flute and piano, written in 1957.
The sonata was commissioned by the American Library of Congress and is dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, an American patron of chamber music. Poulenc preferred composing for woodwinds above strings. He premiered the piece with the flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal in June 1957 at the Strasbourg Music Festival. The work was an immediate success, and was quickly taken up in the US, Britain and elsewhere and has been recorded many times. Critics have noted Poulenc’s characteristic “trademark bittersweet grace, wit, irony and sentiment” in the piece.
The flute sonata became one of Poulenc’s best-known works and is a prominent feature in 20th-century flute repertoire. It has a claim to be the most played of any work for flute and piano.
