Flute Sonata (Poulenc)

The Sonate pour flûte et piano (Flute Sonata), FP 164, by Francis Poulenc, is a three-movement work for flute and piano, written in 1957. The sonata was commissioned by the American Library of Congress and is dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, an American patron of chamber music. Poulenc preferred composing for woodwinds above strings. He premiered the piece with the flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal in June 1957 at the Strasbourg Music Festival.