ABSTRACT
The author had conversation with Francis Poulenc for French Radio between October 1953 and April 1954 taught him a great deal. The author have known Poulenc for nearly 20 years, and his music for a little longer, since that far-off day when Marcel Ciampi gave a concert in the Salle Gaveau entitled La Valse; and on the programme, among a number of the most famous pieces in 3/4 time, no more than a page from an album: the 'Valse' from the Album des Six. There is the slightly cynical Poulenc whom some people take for a 'petit maitre'. Francis Poulenc explains himself very clearly and precisely, simplifying the author's task almost to the point of redundancy. The reason is that Poulenc is an anxious person, rarely happy with himself and, as a result, always ready to turn to self-analysis in order to know and understand himself better.
