Les Petits Nerveux: French Music for Piano and Winds

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Poulenc's artistic credo was as charming as his music. "There must be room for some really good music that uses other people's chords," he's reported to have said. And so in his Trio for Piano, Oboe and Bassoon, as well as the Sextet for Piano and Winds, Mozart and Haydn rub shoulders with cartoon music and Edith Piaf. It's a typically eclectic mix that somehow never sounds incongruous or out of place, so smoothly does the composer segue from one style to another. Along with the delicious pieces by Roussel, Français, and Saint-Saëns, this delightful disc is simply the last word in charm and elegance, and it's superbly recorded, too. Essential. --David Hurwitz

Album Description
Hexagon's go-for-broke performance of the title track of this disc, Jean Francaix's Les petits nerveux, sets the tone for a terrific hour of music by some of France's finest composers. Hexagon was a winner of "The Young Concert Artists' International Competition" and here the group plays with wit, panache and a virtuosity that places them in the front ranks of chamber ensembles performing today. Included on this program are two Poulenc favorites, the early Trio, and the masterful 1939 Sextet, as well as works by Roussel and Saint-Saens. Of particular note is a red-hot performance of Saint-Saens' delicious Tarantella. The New York Times called Hexagon "six exceptionally talented musicians" and as evidenced by this recording, that is certainly no exaggeration.

Tracks:

Les Petits Nerveux
Sxt: I. Allegro Vivace
Sxt: II. Divertissement
Sxt: III. Finale: Presto
Caprice On Danish And Russian Airs
Trio: I. Presto
Trio: II. Andante
Trio: III. Rondo
Divertissement, Op.6
Tarantelle, Op.6

Amazon.com

Poulenc's artistic credo was as charming as his music. "There must be room for some really good music that uses other people's chords," he's reported to have said. And so in his Trio for Piano, Oboe and Bassoon, as well as the Sextet for Piano and Winds, Mozart and Haydn rub shoulders with cartoon music and Edith Piaf. It's a typically eclectic mix that somehow never sounds incongruous or out of place, so smoothly does the composer segue from one style to another. Along with the delicious pieces by Roussel, Français, and Saint-Saëns, this delightful disc is simply the last word in charm and elegance, and it's superbly recorded, too. Essential. --David Hurwitz

Album Description

Hexagon's go-for-broke performance of the title track of this disc, Jean Francaix's Les petits nerveux, sets the tone for a terrific hour of music by some of France's finest composers. Hexagon was a winner of "The Young Concert Artists' International Competition" and here the group plays with wit, panache and a virtuosity that places them in the front ranks of chamber ensembles performing today. Included on this program are two Poulenc favorites, the early Trio, and the masterful 1939 Sextet, as well as works by Roussel and Saint-Saens. Of particular note is a red-hot performance of Saint-Saens' delicious Tarantella. The New York Times called Hexagon "six exceptionally talented musicians" and as evidenced by this recording, that is certainly no exaggeration.

Customer Reviews:

All Poulenc, all the time!.......2003-03-13

Bleh! Too much Poulenc, not enough Francaix, Roussel and Saint-Saens! Six bleh tracks by Poulenc! Bleh to Poulenc!

Track Listings: