Donald Macleod looks at Poulenc’s contacts among the salons of Parisian high society and his dealings with that legendary patron of music, the Princess de Polignac.

Donald Macleod explores five aspects of Poulenc’s personality and how they find expression in his music. 'In Poulenc there is something of the monk and something of the rascal' said the composer’s friend Claude Rostand - but there were other sources of inspiration that drove him. From the gregarious exploits of his youth to his serious engagement with Catholicism, from schmoozing in high society salons to the calm he sought at his country retreat and his struggles with depression, Donald surveys the life and music of a man full of contradictions.

Poulenc had a privileged entry to the world, and as an adult slipped effortlessly into the affluent, artistic circles of Paris. The composer’s career was advanced by high society salons and the connections and friendships he cultivated there. Today Donald Macleod looks at the influential people he met in these settings, who he came to rely on professionally and personally, including Wanda Landowska and the Princess de Polignac.

Nocturne No 4 in C minor ‘Bal fantôme’
Stephen Hough, piano

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Ton Koopman, harpsichord
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Elly Ameling, soprano
Dalton Baldwin, piano

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