Francis Poulenc and the Franco-American Cultural Alliance: Emulation and Innovation in the 1949 Piano Concerto Amy Dunning
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2008 Francis Poulenc and the Franco-American Cultural Alliance: Emulation and Innovation in the 1949 Piano Concerto Amy Dunning Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC FRANCIS POULENC AND THE FRANCO-AMERICAN CULTURAL ALLIANCE: EMULATION AND INNOVATION IN THE 1949 PIANO CONCERTO By Amy Dunning A Thesis submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music Degree Awarded: Summer Semester 2008 Copyright © 2008 Amy Dunning All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the thesis of Amy Dunning defended on July 7, 2008. Denise Von Glahn Professor Directing Thesis Douglass Seaton Committee Member Joseph Kraus Committee Member The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii For my husband, Justin, who brings me joy iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am truly thankful for all of the people who have supported and assisted me in various ways. I am especially grateful to my thesis advisor, Dr. Denise Von Glahn, for her enthusiastic guidance and endless encouragement through every stage of this project. I thank Dr. Douglass Seaton for his insightful comments and ideas, and for helping me to think about issues from different perspectives. I am also very grateful to Dr. Joseph Kraus, who spent countless hours patiently assisting me with the analytical portion of this study; I learned so much from him. All three of my committee members are exemplary scholars, teachers, and mentors and I am fortunate to have benefited from their knowledge and wisdom. I would like to thank my colleague Sara Nodine, who seemed to appear in the library at just the right moments to offer a smile, a listening ear, words of encouragement, and a bit of humor to put things in perspective. I am also grateful for the assistance of Barbara Perkel at the Boston Symphony Orchestra Archives. I owe so much to my parents, Kevin and Donna Bradley, for supporting and encouraging me in all of my endeavors, for teaching me the value of hard work, for loving me unconditionally, and for always being available to listen. Their expressions of pride and excitement have given me the confidence to pursue my dreams. I thank my sister, Lauren, for listening to me talk about my project and for always knowing how to make me laugh. Her engaging performances of piano works by Debussy and Gershwin have fueled my love for French and American music of the twentieth century. To my grandmother, Pearl Cosby, I attribute my passion for music and language. She continues to be my inspiration. This project would not have been possible without the enduring love, encouragement, and support I receive on a daily basis from my husband, Justin. He understands me in ways that even I do not, and I am so thankful for his patience and his vision. He helped me in innumerable ways throughout this process, including talking through ideas with me, reading drafts, providing emotional support, and helping me find the courage and strength to press onward. His confidence in me never wanes. I dedicate this project to him. Finally, I thank God for how richly I am blessed; he has filled my life with joy through family, friends, and music. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ................................................................................................................ vi List of Music Examples ............................................................................................... vii Abstract ....................................................................................................................... viii 1. POULENC AND THE PARISIAN AVANT-GARDE ............................................. 1 2. THE PIANO CONCERTO: EMULATION AND INNOVATION ........................ 13 3. A PARISIAN IN AMERICA: THE PIANO CONCERTO AND POULENC’S AMERICAN SUCCESS ......................................................................................... 30 4. POULENC AND THE FRANCO-AMERICAN CULTURAL ALLIANCE ......... 47 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 60 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ........................................................................................ 65 v LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1. Ternary form diagram of Movement I based on the interpretations of Keith Daniel and Emmanuel Reibel .......................................................... 15 Table 2.2. Durational diagram of Movement I in ternary form interpretation ............ 15 Table 2.3. Arch form diagram of Movement I ............................................................. 15 Table 2.4. Quasi-sonata form diagram of Movement I ................................................ 16 Table 2.5. Ternary form diagram of Movement II ....................................................... 17 Table 2.6. Modified rondo form diagram of Movement III ......................................... 18 Table 2.7. Harmonic progression of opening theme, Movement I .............................. 20 Table 2.8. Thematic statements and transitions in opening section of Movement I .... 21 Table 2.9. Phrase structure diagram of opening theme, Movement II, mm. 1-13 ....... 23 Table 2.10. Successive compression of opening phrase, Movement II ....................... 23 Table 2.11. Design of the opening A section, third movement ................................... 25 vi LIST OF MUSIC EXAMPLES Example 2.1. Opening theme (reduction), first movement, mm. 1-8, showing sentential phrase structure ..................................................................... 20 Example 2.2. Second movement, opening theme (reduction), mm. 1-13, showing hybrid phrase structure .......................................................................... 22 Example 2.3. Third movement, opening theme, mm. 1-8, showing its intimation of a continuous binary rondo theme and of a parallel period phrase structure. The half cadence in m. 8 negates formation of a period ...... 24 Example 3.1. Poulenc’s use of Stephen Foster’s “Old Folks at Home” in solo piano part, third movement, mm. 148-51 ....................................................... 40 Example 3.2a. Melody of the French folk song, “À la Claire fontaine” ...................... 41 Example 3.2b. Melody of Stephen Foster’s “Old Folks at Home” .............................. 41 Example 3.3. “La Mattchiche” (Paris: Hachette, ca. 1903), one arrangement of the maxixe that was popular in France for decades. Gershwin used the idea from mm. 14b-18 in An American in Paris (1928) ....................... 43 Example 3.4. The maxixe idea in An American in Paris, r. 11 .................................... 44 Example 3.5. Poulenc’s quotation of Gershwin’s maxixe, third movement, mm. 200b-203 ....................................................................................... 44 vii ABSTRACT Francis Poulenc’s 1949 Piano Concerto was written for his performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra during his second American tour in 1950. It is an example of his distinctive musical language and compositional craftsmanship, as well as a thoughtful and creative interaction with his host audience through the incorporation of American tunes—Stephen Foster’s “Old Folks at Home” and a melodic/rhythmic idea from George Gershwin’s An American in Paris. The Concerto synthesizes the exuberant style of Poulenc’s youthful years, the serene and expressive qualities of his mid-life maturity, and his overall neoclassic idiom. This study begins by examining aspects of Poulenc’s musical style exemplified in the Concerto as they were shaped by the Parisian avant-garde of the 1910s and 1920s, and by the composer’s maturing musical language in the 1930s and 1940s. An analysis of the Concerto’s formal procedures and musical syntax reveals some of the ways that Poulenc emulated and remade classical tradition through a balance of clarity and ambiguity. A discussion of the creation and reception of the Concerto within the context of the composer’s mid-century American tours shows how Poulenc captivated American audiences and further solidified his international reputation through his pianism, social decorum, and adeptness in synthesizing tradition with popular tunes and styles that acknowledged and engaged his patrons. This study highlights the Concerto’s significance as a product and reflection of the dynamic interaction between France and the United States. An illumination of the countries’ political connections and cultural exchanges, particularly as manifested in music, art, and fashion in the first half of the twentieth century, reveals Poulenc’s role as a musical diplomat and a commentator on the history of the Franco-American alliance. viii CHAPTER 1 POULENC AND THE PARISIAN AVANT-GARDE Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) is widely recognized as a member of Les Six, the group of young Parisian composers active in the 1920s that was inspired by the ideas of Erik Satie and Jean Cocteau. Seeking to create a new French music characterized by clarity and accessibility and free from the domination of German Romanticism, they embraced eighteenth-century tonal traditions and genres and infused them with the musical panache associated with Parisian popular entertainment. Poulenc continued to incorporate many of the values from the 1920s within a maturing musical language throughout his life,