The concert works of Georges Auric, 1945 to 1983

Abstract

Following World War II, Georges Auric (1899–1983) quickly rose to prominence in European cinema. Through his scores for films in the French tradition du qualite, the Ealing comedies, British thrillers, and for dozens of international co-productions, he became a defining voice in the sound world of postwar European cinema. While scholarship on Auric has discussed his role in the Parisian avant-garde of the 1920s and his concert music of the 1930s, little work has been done on his later concert music. This chapter complements current and forthcoming scholarship on Auric’s music by examining the concert works that he composed while at the height of his careers as a film composer and as an administrator at the Paris Opera, SACEM, and other arts organisations. The chapter focuses in particular on theatrical works (including a dozen ballets), on five of his works for large ensemble (including a piano concerto, a symphony, a tone poem, a concert overture, and a piece for wind ensemble), and on chamber music (including both his collaborations with various pairs of duo pianists and his late series entitled Imaginees I–VI).