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The Essential Set of Poulenc's Orchestral Works

Jeffrey Lipscomb | Sacramento, CA United States | 06/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Save for the Organ Concerto, the Aubade and the Piano Concerto, this 2-disc EMI CD set contains the major orchestral works of Francis Poulenc (1899-1963), all conducted by the composer's close associate Georges Pretre. To my taste, this is the indispensable collection of these works.



Pretre (1924- ) was an uneven, even erratic, conductor. Many of his opera recordings were marked by eccentric tempos (e.g., the complete "La Traviata" with Caballe on BMG). But Pretre's affinity for Poulenc's music is undeniable. This recording of the complete ballet "Les Biches" includes the rarely-heard choral numbers. The music contains brief references to works by other composers, such as Mozart's Haffner symphony, Stravinsky's Symphonies of Wind Instruments, and Enescu's 1st Romanian Rhapsody. Pretre does an amazing job of making London's Philharmonia Orchestra sound like a French ensemble (likewise the superb Ambrosian Singers). The playing, especially by the brass, is absolutely first-rate. Pretre's interpretation lacks the inimitable rhythmic bite and sparkle of the classic mono recording of Roger Desormiere (the suite only on Testament), but then so does everybody else's. The more I listen to the few precious recordings that Desormiere made before his debilitating stroke in the early 1950's, the more I feel that he may well have been the finest of ALL French conductors.



The other performances here are with French ensembles. Pretre's reading of "Les Animaux Modeles" - a masterpiece if there ever was one - is the finest on disc. Several of the items here - especially the Sinfonietta (the closest Poulenc came to writing a symphony) - are very infrequently recorded, so having them all together in one set is a pleasure to hear. The "Concert Champetre" (Rustic Concerto) is exquisitely rendered by harpsichordist Aimee van de Wiele (it's much better played than by Poulenc himself on piano in a live recording available only in a 10-disc set from the NY Philharmonic).



This account of the Concerto for Two Pianos with the great Jacques Fevrier and the composer himself on keyboards is a bit slower than Pretre's stereo re-make with Tacchino & Ringweisen. That was probably a concession to Poulenc's piano technique. Both readings are wonderful - the later one is coupled with Tacchino in the Aubade and the Piano Concerto (see my review).



Other great Pretre recordings worth hearing are his Poulenc Gloria & Organ Concerto (the premier recordings, alas on a now out of print EMI CD), his extraoordinary account of "Le Loup" by Dutilleux (perhaps the finest of all postwar French ballets, coupled on EMI with the Les Biches Suite and Milhaud's "La Creation du Monde"), his superb complete Roussel "Bacchus et Ariane" (EMI), and three intriguing works by French composers based on stories by Edgar Allen Poe: Debussy's "La Chute de la Maison Usher," Caplet's "Le Masque de la mort rouge," and Schmitt's "Le Palais hante" (all on EMI 64687).



For Poulenc's major orchestral works, this Pretre set is simply required listening. C'est magnifique!



Jeff Lipscomb"