Francis Poulenc

Biography

Francis Poulenc (Paris, January 7, 1899 – Paris, January 30, 1963) was a French composer and a member of the French group “Les Six”. He composed music in all major genres, including art song, chamber music, oratorio, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music. Critic [a=Claude Rostand], in a July 1950 Paris-Presse article, described Poulenc as “half bad boy, half monk” (“le moine et le voyou”), a tag that was to be attached to his name for the rest of his career.