Francis Poulenc, praised by Arnold Schoenberg as a great lyric voice, is one of the most frequently performed and widely admired 20th-century composers. The pieces chosen for this program are concise, songful and cover a wide range of emotions. They also span most of Poulenc’s career, from the Trois Mouvements perpétuels written at the age of 19 to the final Improvisations, written four years before his death at 64.

Aleck Karis has made numerous recordings for Bridge, ranging from Mozart to Feldman, Stravinsky, Cage and Carter. He is a Professor of Piano at the University of California, San Diego.