Francis Poulenc

About

Francis Poulenc is a revolutionary French composer, responsible for helping shape a new post-Impressionist, post-Wagnerian era in French music. He composed in a broad range of genres, and was known in his career to be "half monk, half delinquent," a title given to him by a French critic. He was a member of a group of artists from that time known as Les Six, noted for their musical breakthroughs at the time. Poulenc's breadth of work includes ballets, operas, chamber music and compositions for piano and strings.