Jean Françaix fifth opera, "La Princesse de Clèves", exemplifies his qualities as a composer, heard also in his various ballet and film scores.

The Piano Concertino of 1932, written while Françaix was a student, won immediate popularity.

Other concertos include a Piano Concerto and a Two Piano Concerto, a Violin Concertino and concertos for clarinet and for flute, as well as a number of other works making use of varied groups of solo instruments.

Solo vocal and choral settings by Françaix range from an oratorio, L'apocalypse de St Jean, to a cantata for mezzo-soprano and strings, Déploration de Tonton, chien fidèle (Lament for Tonton, faithful dog), with settings of La Fontaine and Rabelais.

There is particularly idiomatic handling of wind instruments in a number of works for instrumental ensemble, including a Saxophone Quartet.

There is a Sonatine for violin and piano and another for trumpet and piano, while the Neuf pièces charactéristiques for ten wind instruments have a particular charm.