Prélude No. 3: Le jeu des contraires (The Game of Opposites)

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Musical Terms (1)

• Conservatoire examination piece English
  A piece written specifically for use as a sight-reading or set piece at the examinations (concours) of the Paris Conservatoire, typically commissioned from established French composers. Dutilleux composed many such pieces during his career — notably the Sonatine for Flute (1943), Sarabande et cortège for Bassoon (1942), Choral, cadence et fugato for Trombone (1950), and the Oboe Sonata (1947). These pieces were disowned by Dutilleux as his 'official' output but they have all entered the standard repertoire of their respective instruments and remain widely studied and performed today.
  The Conservatoire examination pieces have a specific character: they are typically demanding enough to test advanced students while being clear in their formal articulation. The Sonatine for Flute in particular should be approached as a fully serious French sonata in miniature, not as a student exercise. Dutilleux's craftsmanship is evident even in these 'disowned' works.