Haydn - sonata no 42
Music and Letters
Dedicated to Maria Esterhazy - daughter of Franz Josef I of Lichtenstein. Haydn became musical director at the Esterházy court
Music & letters: The theme in bars 1–8 delineates how a polite woman ought to walk, think, and speak. The small gestures that start off the theme mimic an attempt to take short, elegant steps to walk forward with grace and care. This way of walking aligns with the instruction of The Polite Academy (1762), which claims a woman must learn how to walk elegantly before she can dance gracefully. To do so, writes the author, the head must be held up without any stiffness. Her whole person must be kept upright; her shoulders must fall easily; her arms must be dropped gracefully down to the waist. Her steps must be short; her feet must not be lifted too high; the foot that was up should be brought down slowly with a relaxed motion. 

Faschingsschwank aus Wien, literally translated as "Carnival Jest from Vienna."   The piece is a tribute to the celebration of Mardi Gras: revelry that includes music, drama, mime, masquerade, and dance. 

In the opening movement, Schumann takes sly revenge on the Austrian censor who forbade the singing of the Marseillaise, on the grounds that such a revolutionary piece might cause public disorder.  In the midst of a stream of interruptions to the boisterous blaring first theme, a French patriot appears and bursts into the offending song.  The plaintive Romanze is followed by an ebullient Scherzino.  The impassioned Intermezzo features a soaring melody above a dark swirl of accompaniment. An exuberant Finale in sonata-form closes the work.

Poulenc - the most important piano composer among the French composers in Les six influenced by the Neoclassicism. 
Napoli - completed 1026 after visit to Naples in 1922.  Suggests the bustle of the city
Barcarolle - traditionally sung by Venetian gondoliers