There is no mention whatever in the skimpy notes here of the “concerto choreographique” Aubade, but all the same one wonders how, in the face of the evidence, the writer can confidently state that Poulenc wrote only four concertos. This issue has the virtue, in fact, of gathering together all his concertos in performances that are intrinsically highly laudable; but, with the exception of the Organ Concerto, which with the Flentrop instrument in Rotterdam comes over with admirable clarity and in the right proportions, they are marred by faults of balance. The worst sufferer is the Harpsichord Concerto, where the solo instrument sounds pathetically feeble: the fault was initially Poulenc’s, who in 1927 had had no experience of the harpsichord and pitted it against too large an orchestra, but the recording team then failed to realize that the work had been intended for Landowska’s robust-toned Pleyel and made no allowances for an instrument of very different kind. Even in the piano works there are problems. In the Aubade the solo instrument, often mercilessly loud, frequently covers orchestral passages it is meant to be accompanying; much the same applies to the first movement of the Piano Concerto, though subsequently someone seems to have woken up to the imbalance and done something about it. The Concerto for Two Pianos, the performance of which sparkles with verve (like most of the other works) but is too casually cool in the Larghetto, again has the pianos very forwardly placed, but more acceptably. The bargain price of the discs may well be an attraction, but intending buyers should at least be aware of the drawbacks in these 1984 recordings.'