As a boy, Poulenc was taught to play the piano by his mother. At age 15, he studied with Ricardo Vines, who encouraged his ambition to compose, and introduced him to Satie, Casell and others. He never studied counterpoint or orchestration, thus had little technical knowledge of music, however, he showed an instinctive grasp of musical form.
Poulenc was a member of Les Six, a group of young French and Swiss composers who also had links with Erik Satie and Jean Cocteau. They often would give concerts together, drawing much inspiration from "Paresian" folklore.
His last set of major works was a series of sonatas for woodwind instruments. Poulenc was particularly fond of woodwind instruments and planned a sonata for each other; However he only lived to complete three: One for clarinet, flute, and oboe. These are among Poulenc's most famous works and are each considered 20th century staples for their respective instruments.
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As a boy, Poulenc was taught to play the piano by his mother. At age 15, he studied with Ricardo Vines, who encouraged his ambition to compose, and introduced him to Satie, Casell and others. He never studied counterpoint or orchestration, thus had little technical knowledge of music, however, he showed an instinctive grasp of musical form.
Poulenc was a member of Les Six, a group of young French and Swiss composers who also had links with Erik Satie and Jean Cocteau. They often would give concerts together, drawing much inspiration from "Paresian" folklore.
His last set of major works was a series of sonatas for woodwind instruments. Poulenc was particularly fond of woodwind instruments and planned a sonata for each other; However he only lived to complete three: One for clarinet, flute, and oboe. These are among Poulenc's most famous works and are each considered 20th century staples for their respective instruments.
(Based on my research)