Work Overview

• Year of Publication: 1937
• First Publisher: R. Deiss (later Salabert)
• Instrumentation: Piano solo
• Total Performance Time: 1 minute

The 1937 Paris Exposition, though opening amidst an unsettling international climate, garnered significant attention and success due to the elaborate exhibits from various countries. To commemorate the Exposition, Marguerite Long spearheaded the planning and publication of two piano collections. One was “À l’Exposition” (At the Exposition / published by Deiss), which compiled works by eight French composers (Auric, Delannoy, Ibert, Milhaud, Poulenc, Sauguet, Schmitt, Tailleferre). The other was “Parc d’Attractions-Expo 1937” (Amusement Park - Expo 1937 / published by Max Eschig), which gathered works by nine foreign composers residing in Paris (Tcherepnin, Martinu, Mompou, Rieti, Honegger, Halffter, Tansman, Mihalovici, Harsányi). Both collections are interesting not only for showcasing the individual personalities of each composer but also for vividly capturing various scenes of this final historical event of the interwar period.

Separate from the national pavilions, an amusement park (Parc d’Attractions) was set up within the Exposition grounds. In one corner of this park, a miniature set recreating the Kingdom of Lilliput (Le Royaume de Lilliput) from Jonathan Swift's “Gulliver's Travels” was featured. This piece draws its inspiration from this miniature set. In G major, 2/4 time, and marked Allegro vivace, it possesses a light character in a simple ABA ternary form. However, the use of the Mixolydian mode lends it a somewhat rustic charm. It is a refined miniature, showing a similar tendency to Ibert's representative piano collection, “Histoires.”

Marguerite Long was known for her interest in contemporary music, participating in the premieres of many new works, and actively encouraging her students to perform them. The premiere of this piece took place on June 25, 1937, at the “Pavillon de la Femme, de l’Enfant et de la Famille” (Pavilion of Women, Children, and Family) within the Exposition grounds. It was performed by Françoise Gobet, an eight-year-old student of Long. Gobet later graduated at the top of her class from the Paris Conservatoire's piano department and gained renown as a pianist specializing in French contemporary music.