A Study On The Composition Techniques Of Francis Poulenc's Three Piano Concerto

Francis Poulenc(1899-1963)is recognized as one of the greatest French composers of the 20 th century,a representative composer and pianist of the Parisian avant-garde of neoclassical music,and a member of "Les Six",hailed as the "French Schubert".This study examines Poulenc’s three piano concertos,delving into the composer’s creative techniques within the context of his time,uncovering the commonalities and unique features of these works,and summarizing the characteristics of Poulenc’s piano concerto music for future creative practice and theoretical research.The author of this paper considers the following issues: what kind of composer was Francis Poulenc from the perspective of modern music;how did Poulenc embody neoclassical and French style in his piano concertos;how did Poulenc express his role as a French cultural ambassador and music diplomat through his composition of piano concertos;and in the process of creation,how did Poulenc establish a connection with classical tradition and reshape the classical compositional framework through the form,title,structure,harmony,rhythm and structure of piano concertos.This paper examines the research framework as follows: firstly,the study begins with Poulenc’s historical background and personal life,summarizing the changes in his musical works and styles and introducing five of his representative keyboard concertos through the composer’s letters,contemporary reviews,and the development of representative events.Secondly,analyzing the elements of themes,sentence structures,melodic styles,pitch organization,progressions and formal structures,and the relationship between solo and concertos,we summarize Poulenc’s connection with classical tradition in the concerto genre.Thirdly,we discuss how Poulenc recreated the form and content of his works based on the traditional classical concerto,the way the music logic process of conveying his compositions is expressed and how it exhibits his compositional value.Finally,we study the creative characteristics of Poulenc’s three piano concertos from a compositional technique perspective,analyzing the sources of the creative themes in the three works,such as elements of gamelan music from the Eastern music,theme quotes from Stravinsky works,and Parisian popular music styles such as circus music,and summarizing the creative techniques and music development logical process.