Francis Poulenc was born in Paris on January 7, 1899, and died there on January 30, 1963. The Concerto in D minor, commissioned by and dedicated to the Princess Edmonde de Polignac, was premiered on September 5, 1932, at the International Society for Contemporary Music in Venice. Poulenc and his friend Jacques Février were the soloists, with Désiré Defauw conducting the La Scala Orchestra. The first performance by the San Francisco Symphony was given in March 1952 with pianists Jack Lowe and Arthur Whittemore, and with Pierre Monteux conducting. In the only subsequent performances, in May 2006, the soloists were Katia and Marielle Labèque, with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting. The score calls for an orchestra of piccolo and flute, two oboes (one doubling English horn), two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, two trombones, tuba, small drum without snare, military drum without snare, military drum with snare, bass drum, castanets, tambourine, triangle, and strings.
