In the world of concertos and especially those written for two pianos, there is almost no comparison to the one written by Poulenc. One thing that strikes me immediately how modern Poulenc composes. How it sounds is simply stunning like that of the music that would be in a crystal ball. It’s like a white Christmas. There are certain jazzy effects that are reflected in many different contemporaries of his as well as his own works. One of the striking things about the double piano concerto is that there are very few, if any solo cadenzas. These two pianos are interspersing in different musical conversations with each other and with the orchestra but there are hardly any solos from either of the two pianos. The concerto demands far more than just mere technique. I tell my students that technique is only part of the game. One also have to have a certain feeling that goes into the music. There is a certain degree of charm amongst the dramatic strains of the music. It creates a unique balance between Poulenc’s dramatic sense and his sense of having charming melodies and tunes that will carry through his many iterations of the form of the piece. The vast amounts of octave leaps and heavy chromaticism makes this piece shine as well as having hints of the classical music composer’s repertoire in his list of tunes. It’s like parts of the Romantic and Classical era are back again.
The alterations of tempo from the strict, march-like passages to the slower passages that go back into the more Romantic-sounding melodies are also hair-raising and awe-inspiring. The trek into what seems like the minor keys is awesome and a departure from a traditional sonata or sonata-rondo form in the latter movements. In the first movement there is a sonata allegro form which is the marching like tempo that I was referring to in the beginning. He opens up the sonata-allegro form with a rapid repeating chromatic passages that echo the patterns of Saint-Saens and Rachmaninoff (my reference). It seriously reminds me of the opening of one of Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos. I believe it’s the Concerto in G minor. There is a part that is striking with a D minor chord-B flat major chord rocking motion before going into the G minor gallop. The striking nature of the forms in the sonata allegro. It seems like it’s not going to end. Then, in the last movement, the composer imitates his idol, Mozart where he brings up one of the various themes in various guises, thus flirting with one of the themes that he finds favor with the most. He flourishes this with a fantastic finale that leaves audiences just stunned. The D minor chords of the striking nature and the dramatic chromaticism comes back in a whirl, leaving a cloud of astonished concert-goers in its wake. Very well done, Poulenc!
