Sergei Prokofiev in Paris - 16 June, 1925, at night
from Sergey Prokofiev diaries: 17 June 1925, page 179:
After Matelots came Les Biches, which Poulenc claims to have completely revised and re-orchestrated. In fact it is just as it was before: a bit of tango, a little something filched from Beethoven, a slice of Life for the Tsar. A dilettante - that is the definition of Poulenc, and his ballet was thrown into stark relief alongside Matelots, which is the work of a master and succeeded in sinking its companion without trace. One image, only one, of Les Biches will remain, and that is the seductive silhouette of Nemchinova*.
Sergei Prokofiev, Sergey Prokofiev diaries: 17 June 1925. In Sergey Prokofiev, and Anthony Phillips (ed.), Sergey Prokofiev diaries, volume 3 (Ithaca N.Y, 2006), p. 179. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1464388710614 accessed: 22 January, 2025
Listeners
Listening to
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Les Biches
written by Francis Poulenc |
performed by Orchestra of the Ballets Russes |
Experience Information
Date/Time | 16 June, 1925, at night |
Medium | live |
Listening Environment | in the company of others, indoors, in public |
Notes
* Vera Nemchinova (1899 - 1984), at this time effectively Diaghilev's prima ballerina.