Francis Poulenc - Les Biches

Arrangement of the orchestral suite for 2 pianos 4 hands (1996)

Poulenc has always been one of my beloved characters among the XXth century composers. Having worked and performed all of his two pianos music, I wanted more of it. So I looked for one of his orchestral pieces that would be suitable for a two pianos arrangement, and I choose for his fresh and elegant music from his ballet Les Biches.

As this wonderful ballet music is not one of his most performed orchestral works, my choice was reinforced by the fact that this transcription could help to increase its popularity and become a companion piece for his other 2-pianos pieces. The transcription respects totally the original text and tries to be as close as possible to the typical piano writing of Poulenc.

Made roughly in 1996, this transcription received his final touch only at the end of 2004. The first public performance was given on the 7th May 2005 in the Auditorium Maene, Brussels, by Laurent Beeckmans and Pierre Thomas.

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