Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) was a French composer and pianist, one of the most distinctive voices of twentieth-century French music. He was associated with Les Six and wrote with wit, tenderness and devotional seriousness in equal measure.

In the Pristine catalogue he appears as a performer in Satie duets, alongside recordings of his Gloria and Organ Concerto.

Poulenc’s own playing is important because his music so often depends on suppleness, timing and conversational ease. The performer illuminates the composer from inside the mechanism.

His page is justified as an artist entry as well as a composer identity. Poulenc at the keyboard is the composer caught with fingerprints still warm on the keys.