# Best Satie recording



## dismas

I'm looking to buy recordings of Satie's music. What's the best Satie recording?


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## regressivetransphobe

In my opinion, one of the various Reinbert de Leeuw albums. I only have one of his (the Gnossiennes/Gymnopedies single disc), but the tempo is perfectly, mystically slow, letting everything breathe and waft and not acting as if it's just "witty" music from a footnote composer.


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## annie

if you are looking for a single cd I'd recommend Thibaudet's The Magic of Satie. If you want to go for the whole nine yards it's again Thibaudet's Satie:complete solo works-5CDs. Ciccolini's recordings are great too but the one I'd recommend would be his 92 release 2CD Satieiano Works


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## Rasa

I have a disc with some Satie by Anne Queffélec wich I enjoy a lot.

The best I've heard though is a live recording by Belgian pianist Claude Coppens, but I wouldn't know where to begin finding these.


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## Sofronitsky

Aldo Cicciolini. It's hard for a professional pianist to interpret Satie wrong, I think all of these options should be fine. I'm not trying to put a damper on the music, but if you're already a high level pianist you'd have to be practically retarded to make a bad recording of the Gymnopedies.


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## Aksel

Rasa said:


> I have a disc with some Satie by Anne Queffélec wich I enjoy a lot.


I've heard that one as well. Thoroughly enjoyable.


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## Manxfeeder

regressivetransphobe said:


> In my opinion, one of the various Reinbert de Leeuw albums. I only have one of his (the Gnossiennes/Gymnopedies single disc), but the tempo is perfectly, mystically slow, letting everything breathe and waft and not acting as if it's just "witty" music from a footnote composer.


If I may interrupt cautiously here, I am a big fan of Reinbert de Leeuw's Satie recordings, but I think they should come after someone has heard them played "normally." Otherwise, his zen-like timing and sense of control won't be fully appreciated.

Back in the early '90s I went on a search to collect every Satie recording I could find. What I discovered was, nobody got everything right. Satie had different phases, starting with "religious," then satirical, then what they called white music - the Nocturnes and Socrate.

Back then, Ciccolini [his first set of recordings] was best at the satirical/humorous pieces and the cafe-concert pieces; de Leeuw was best at the Rose et Croix pieces (Ogives, Sonneries); Pascal Roge and Phillippe Entremont were best at the Gymnopies and Gnoissiennes. But I haven't paid attention to anyone after that.

I'm listening to Anne Quefelec and Thibeaudet on Spotify. Anne is very interesting, not afraid to play around with the timing. She seems to have a very good feel overall for the different pieces.

Anyway, I'm not being much help, but I would caution you: stay away from France Clidat.

If you haven't already, I hope you can find a book, like Alan Gilmore's *Erik Satie* or Myers' shorter book *Erik Satie*, to explain what's going on in these pieces, how he quoted from popular songs similar to the way Cubists were using collages and how his quirky titles actually made sense.

And if I can put in a plug for Sports et Divertissements, both the pieces and the score itself; I think they're marvels of miniaturization in how he unites on two-page overlays music/commentary/pictures.


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## Noak

Reinbert de Leeuw, without a doubt. His recording of Gnossienne No.1 is one of my favorite things ever.


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## itywltmt

Noak said:


> Reinbert de Leeuw, without a doubt. His recording of Gnossienne No.1 is one of my favorite things ever.


Agreed.

I also have some selections from an Analekta recording by Francine Kay - pretty good.


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## bumtz

Agree on de Leeuw. Can't appreciate any other recoridngs of solo piano Satie I've heard nearly as much as his.


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## Theophrastus

Sofronitsky said:


> Aldo Cicciolini. It's hard for a professional pianist to interpret Satie wrong, I think all of these options should be fine. I'm not trying to put a damper on the music, but if you're already a high level pianist you'd have to be practically retarded to make a bad recording of the Gymnopedies.


I would like to politely object to the use of 'retarded' as an insult. Don't mean to pick on you personally Sofronitsky, it's just that in the few days I've been here I've come across this a few times. This is one of those words that people fling about without thinking about it, but for people with intellectual disabilities it causes a lot of pain and it also indirectly legitimizes stigmatization and discrimination. This is a sore point for me because my wonderful daughter (that's her picture to the left) has Down's syndrome. She will face enough problems without adding thoughtless prejudice, however unwitting and unintended.

Thanks.


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## tdc

Maybe its just because I had heard too many other recordings first, but I find my recording of the famous Gymnopedie no. 1 played by de Leeuw painfully slow. It is literally half the tempo of some of my other recordings...its just too slow for my tastes.


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## annie

tdc said:


> Maybe its just because I had heard too many other recordings first, but I find my recording of the famous Gymnopedie no. 1 played by de Leeuw painfully slow. It is literally half the tempo of some of my other recordings...its just too slow for my tastes.


i borrowed Leeuw from a friend after seeing the comments. i totally agree. i couldn't even finish on my third listening.


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## bullz

I enjoy very much the orchestal versions of the Gymnopedies. Much more than plain piano ones

One of the best is the Abravanel with Utah Symphony Orchestra version


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## millionrainbows

Manxfeeder said:


> If I may interrupt cautiously here, I am a big fan of Reinbert de Leeuw's Satie recordings, but I think they should come after someone has heard them played "normally." Otherwise, his zen-like timing and sense of control won't be fully appreciated.


Agreed. I associate Reinbert de Leeuw with the "Wagner without words: An Orchestral Adventure" series of 3 CDs. They are beautiful, but very dreamy and slow.

My favorite Satie orchestral recording is the 2-CD Abravanel/Utah SO (Vanguard), and the box set of piano works by Bojan Gorisek (Audiophile Classics). There are also some single CDs of Satie's Masonic music.


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## Schubussy

Daniel Versano.

And Aldo Ciccolini.


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## joen_cph

I agree about those recommending De Leeuw. But it is highly unlikely that this is the "authentic" Satie of the music-halls and lively avant-garde scene of his day. It is first and foremost a highly thoughtful, original and fascinating way of performing Satie, that throws new light on the composer. Like for instance the curiously alienated late Gould set of Haydn sonatas, or Ugorski slowing down at the end of the Davidsbündler-Tänze.


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## Manxfeeder

millionrainbows said:


> My favorite Satie orchestral recording is the 2-CD Abravanel/Utah SO (Vanguard).


That's the third time that has come up around these parts lately. I'm going to have to track that down.


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## millionrainbows

Manxfeeder said:


> That's the third time that has come up around these parts lately. I'm going to have to track that down.


Those Vanguard things are so well-mastered, and sound so warm.

I have 2 versions of the Ciccolini, his 1967 version and the later one.

I want to get that Reinbert De Leeuw now. It wasn't De Leeuw, I was thinking about Edo Dewaart who did the Wagner.


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## Novelette

Schubussy said:


> Daniel Versano.
> 
> And Aldo Ciccolini.


I'm not so sure about Versano. His recording is the one I have. While I find the music played expertly, it often sounds as though he is playing on an electric piano. =\ He's great, but I wonder about the piano he plays.


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## cwarchc

I have some De Leeuw and Ciccolini, both are excellent.
Different yes, but excellent


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## bullz

I MUST reccomend also the Bernard Herrmann's Gymnopedies

http://picosong.com/F42j


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## ptr

I'm pretty satisfied with Plasson for the Orchestral renditions. Got Ciccolini, Thibaudet and Swede Olof Höjer (Swedish Society Discofil) on the piano, Ciccolini is probably the best of the three but Höjer probably get the most spin from purely nostalgic reasons! 

/ptr


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## Vaneyes

Ciccolini. I'd like to hear more of Queffelec and Thibaudet. :tiphat:


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## PetrB

joen_cph said:


> I agree about those recommending De Leeuw. But it is highly unlikely that this is the "authentic" Satie of the music-halls and lively avant-garde scene of his day. It is first and foremost a highly thoughtful, original and fascinating way of performing Satie, that throws new light on the composer. Like for instance the curiously alienated late Gould set of Haydn sonatas, or Ugorski slowing down at the end of the Davidsbündler-Tänze.


These are wonderful, and what many call 'a musician's musician' rendering of the piano works. Weirdly and very successfully slow. I'd say the Ciccolini as a sort of bedrock 'archive' recording, which you will likely go to again and again, and the De Leeuw for its quality.

Yes, that Vanguard double CD is not only some of the best engineering for 'pure sound' but I find them still some of the best takes, if not 'the best' of the orchestral works.

Somewhere you will want a good performance of Satie's remarkable 'Socrate.' There, I date myself, an old Oiseaux-Lyre recording from the sixties or seventies, I thought 'just right,' with all present (it is the orchestrated version) while sounding aptly 'unassuming.'


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## Manxfeeder

PetrB said:


> Somewhere you will want a good performance of Satie's remarkable 'Socrate.' There, I date myself, an old Oiseaux-Lyre recording from the sixties or seventies, I thought 'just right,' with all present (it is the orchestrated version) while sounding aptly 'unassuming.'


I've posted this quote before by Ned Rorem about Socrate, but it bears repeating: "The music is not ahead of its time but rather (and of what other work can this be said?) outside of time."


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## teej

I recommend the Aldo Ciccolini recording - far superior to most others in my opinion. Good even tempos, restrained playing (no excessive rubato for example, which I find highly irritating in many Satie interpretations).


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## ChippyRick

Hey, everyone. New to the forum. Anyway I am interested in grabbing a vinyl recording of Satie's Gymnopedies. I took a listen to De Leeuw's recording since it seems to be popular and it was a bit slow. I understand the approach completely but it seemed to exaggerated. To each his own. I also reject Ciccolini's rendition as it is far too fast. I'm stuck looking for a medium speed that you can listen to here: 



Possibly a longshot? Please let me know if you come up with anything. You all seem well versed in pianist knowledge.


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## unterhund

Novelette said:


> I'm not so sure about Versano. His recording is the one I have. While I find the music played expertly, it often sounds as though he is playing on an electric piano. =\ He's great, but I wonder about the piano he plays.


I've been all over Varsano lately. I was remarking to my wife that the mic placement was interesting. The recording of Gnossienne 3 on _Piano Works_ is pretty nice. I don't play piano, just punk rock and jazz, but that recording sounds like a piano - he's playing some pretty interesting stuff, brittle and cautious, yes still ethereal and deliberate - this makes me think that recording it would have been a pain, to get all the little itty-bitty clunks and stuff and still have a somewhat neutral recording. If you listen to the recording on cans (or if you _aren't_ half-deaf like me you don't need cans) it sounds like the mics are picking up a bit of separation left/right. Anyway, I'd love to know what's going on there.

Anyway, Versano's Piano Works is not half bad. Gnoss 3, 4 and Noct 1 stand out for me. Been a fan of Rogue for years, and I'm pretty sure I'm not lookin' back. This punk rock jerk suggests this recording.


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## unterhund

ChippyRick said:


> I'm stuck looking for a medium speed that you can listen to here:
> 
> 
> 
> Possibly a longshot? Please let me know if you come up with anything. You all seem well versed in pianist knowledge.


I'd suggest Pascal Roge _Piano Works_ or _3 Gymnopedies_ and Daniel Varsano _Piano Works_.


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## Guest

Schubussy said:


> *Daniel Versano* [...]


Agree with you entirely for the *Gymnopédies* and _*Gnossiennes*_. Beatiful touch, beautiful tone, excellent pacing.


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## Guest

Another fine Satie interpreter in my book is *Alexandre Tharaud*. 
He's also pretty good with his *Couperin* offering (a Harmonia Mundi CD compilation entitled _tic, toc, choc_).


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## KateSmith

As for me, it's very difficult to classify as the best Satie recording!! All recordings are awesome!


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## unterhund

Gunna sit down to the Ciccolini recordings this afternoon. I hope to get through them twice. Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to get to each as I can.


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## starthrower

Vaneyes said:


> Ciccolini. I'd like to hear more of Queffelec and Thibaudet. :tiphat:


I prefer Thibaudet's darker sound to Ciccolini's bright tone. I'm leaning towards the newly issued 6 CD set which also included a disc of piano four hands by Roge and Collard. http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Decca/4830236#listen

And the Abravanel orchestral set mentioned by Millionrainbows.


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## Pugg

Reinbert de Leeuw, hands down.


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## starthrower

Pugg said:


> Reinbert de Leeuw, hands down.


That guy must be on vallium. Plays way too slow.


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## Manxfeeder

starthrower said:


> That guy must be on vallium. Plays way too slow.


I guess. But there's something zen about what he's doing. I marvel at his level of concentration.


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## Pugg

Manxfeeder said:


> I guess. But there's something zen about what he's doing. I marvel at his level of concentration.


Nothing to add.


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## kenbullock

So far, no mention of Poulenc's 1950 Columbia recordings of Satie piano music, the only recording by a pianist who knew Satie--all on YouTube.


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## joen_cph

There are also some scattered recordings by other pianists acquainted with Satie or his circle - Georges Auric, Jacques Fevrier, Gaby Casadesus, George Copeland come to mind. 
I´m not aware of any recordings by Marcelle Meyer, allegedly Satie´s favourite pianist.

Auric & Poulenc: 





Auric & Cocteau talking about Satie (French):





Fevrier & Poulenc:





Fevrier:





Copeland




, 





Gaby Casadesus:


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## starthrower

kenbullock said:


> So far, no mention of Poulenc's 1950 Columbia recordings of Satie piano music, the only recording by a pianist who knew Satie--all on YouTube.


Included in the box set, Erik Satie & Friends. 13 CDs


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## starthrower

Manxfeeder said:


> But there's something zen about what he's doing. I marvel at his level of concentration.


I'll give De Leeuw another go. I like his dark tone.


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## Pugg

starthrower said:


> I'll give De Leeuw another go. I like his dark tone.


That's what I called a open mined. :tiphat:


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## starthrower

Pugg said:


> That's what I called a open mined. :tiphat:


OK, now I want you to give Carter another try.


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## Pugg

starthrower said:


> OK, now I want you to give Carter another try.


And I am going to dig up : Thibaudet.


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## classicvinyl81

Hello All,

Just joined the forum. I was searching for impressions on different Satie recording and stumbled upon this thread. Just ordered the Frank Glazer 3 vol box set NM (1968 VOX). Surprised it hasn't been mentioned. Definetly faster than Reinbert de Leeuw. Any impressions on the Frank Glazer recording?

Thnx!


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## Pugg

classicvinyl81 said:


> Hello All,
> 
> Just joined the forum. I was searching for impressions on different Satie recording and stumbled upon this thread. Just ordered the Frank Glazer 3 vol box set NM (1968 VOX). Surprised it hasn't been mentioned. Definetly faster than Reinbert de Leeuw. Any impressions on the Frank Glazer recording?
> 
> Thnx!


First if all: a very warm welcome to Talk Classical, classicvinyl81.
To answer your question, never heard this recording, will look into it though.


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## classicvinyl81

Pugg said:


> First if all: a very warm welcome to Talk Classical, classicvinyl81.
> To answer your question, never heard this recording, will look into it though.


Thank you very much. I'll make a review of sorts as soon as it arrives.


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## Pugg

classicvinyl81 said:


> Thank you very much. I'll make a review of sorts as soon as it arrives.


That CD is highly sought after, the cheapest I can find will be €25.00 excluding shipping.


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## classicvinyl81

I paid 25usd + shipping for near mint vinyl Box set. Perhaps a bargain. We'll see.


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## Classical Gas

This may be sacrilegiously unpopular to say, but I prefer Ciccolini to Reinbert de Leeuw. I just listened to de Leeuw's rendition of _Gnossiennes_, and I find his playing too obvious and pointed. Satie's music itself conveys the pensively ruminating mood already (which would take effort to botch); there's no need for de Leeuw's recherché emphases and pregnant pauses -- lovely as it all sounds -- to gild the lily.


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## Pugg

Classical Gas said:


> This may be sacrilegiously unpopular to say, but I prefer Ciccolini to Reinbert de Leeuw. I just listened to de Leeuw's rendition of _Gnossiennes_, and I find his playing too obvious and pointed. Satie's music itself conveys the pensively ruminating mood already (which would take effort to botch); there's no need for de Leeuw's recherché emphases and pregnant pauses -- lovely as it all sounds -- to gild the lily.


Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, don't worry, we don't bite.


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## Selby

Affordable and brilliant:









Affordable and iconic:


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## Pugg

Selby said:


> Affordable and brilliant:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Affordable and iconic:


First one must have!!!


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## NorthernHarrier

I haven't found it easy to find affordable CD recordings that cover a decent chunk of Satie's piano music, but at a used CD store this week I found the French issue of the two-disc Ciccolini "Piano Works" release for just $7. For that price, I have no complaints. It certainly is a pleasure to be able to listen carefully to Satie's work played from a decent recording. 

I will look for the other recordings mentioned in this thread - I'd like to compare them to Ciccolini. I also appreciate the mention here of some good biographies of Satie - he was certainly an interesting person, and I'd like to know more about his life and the context behind his compositions.


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## Manxfeeder

NorthernHarrier said:


> At a used CD store this week I found the French issue of the two-disc Ciccolini "Piano Works" release for just $7.


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## Klassik

NorthernHarrier said:


> I haven't found it easy to find affordable CD recordings that cover a decent chunk of Satie's piano music, but at a used CD store this week I found the French issue of the two-disc Ciccolini "Piano Works" release for just $7. For that price, I have no complaints. It certainly is a pleasure to be able to listen carefully to Satie's work played from a decent recording.
> 
> I will look for the other recordings mentioned in this thread - I'd like to compare them to Ciccolini. I also appreciate the mention here of some good biographies of Satie - he was certainly an interesting person, and I'd like to know more about his life and the context behind his compositions.


Affordable is always a relative team, but Warner Classics has released two new Satie sets under their Erato label in the last couple of years. The one I have came out last year and is a 3-CD set called _The Sound of Satie_. Two CDs have piano works and the third has orchestral works. Many of the piano works are performed by Ciccolini, but some of the recordings are actually new. I think I paid ~$15 for it in store at Barnes & Noble a few months back. It could probably be purchased for less online. I liked it, but I can't really compare it to other Satie recordings. The set comes in a digipak with pretty good box art and decent liner notes.

Warner/Erato has a similar set which came out in 2015 I think and is much more complete called _Tout Satie: The Complete Edition_ that is 10 CDs. It looks like it has everything the 3-CD set has plus much, much more. Amazon has it for about $32 right now.

Tout Satie: The Complete Edition: http://www.warnerclassics.com/release/551461,0825646047963/ciccolini-aldo-satie-the-complete-works

The Sound of Satie: http://www.warnerclassics.com/release/551461,0190295988791/ciccolini-aldo-the-sound-of-satie

I hope that helps someone looking for inexpensive Satie recordings.


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## NorthernHarrier

Klassik said:


> Affordable is always a relative team, but Warner Classics has released two new Satie sets under their Erato label in the last couple of years. The one I have came out last year and is a 3-CD set called _The Sound of Satie_. Two CDs have piano works and the third has orchestral works. Many of the piano works are performed by Ciccolini, but some of the recordings are actually new. I think I paid ~$15 for it in store at Barnes & Noble a few months back. It could probably be purchased for less online. I liked it, but I can't really compare it to other Satie recordings. The set comes in a digipak with pretty good box art and decent liner notes.
> 
> Warner/Erato has a similar set which came out in 2015 I think and is much more complete called _Tout Satie: The Complete Edition_ that is 10 CDs. It looks like it has everything the 3-CD set has plus much, much more. Amazon has it for about $32 right now.
> 
> Tout Satie: The Complete Edition: http://www.warnerclassics.com/release/551461,0825646047963/ciccolini-aldo-satie-the-complete-works
> 
> The Sound of Satie: http://www.warnerclassics.com/release/551461,0190295988791/ciccolini-aldo-the-sound-of-satie
> 
> I hope that helps someone looking for inexpensive Satie recordings.


Klassik: thanks for the good values! I'll save my pennies and put those on my list....


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## yetti66

I was introduced to Satie through Ciccolini recordings as a teenager. Any fan of the music should sample other performers and there are many excellent references listed above.

Outside of Satie's piano music (and orch versions thereof) one of my favorite classical recordings is his piece called SOCRATE for vocal and small chamber ensemble. A bit obscure but recording by a group called 356 (??) is excellent. 
http://factoryrecords.org/factory-records/fact-356-erik-satie-socrate.php


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## enerkhan

Hi, reading this post I went to the local library (I'm Belgian) and I found the disc you are looking for there. If you reimburse the minor costs it will take me to burn it onto disc and send it to you, I can get you the music you long for. The disc I found is a live recording, indeed, of the anthology of Erik Satie played by Claude Coppens.


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## enerkhan

I don't now if my 'quick reply' about the Claude Coppens recording was posted, so I write this one to make sure soe trace of it is left.


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## vonrohac

robert de leeuw. absolutely soulful.


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## flamencosketches

Reviving an older thread. 

Satie is a great composer and his music shows a lot of interpretive flexibility. The music is often so simple (deceptively so) that an artist can really put oneself into it, and there are a lot of different ways to play a lot of his music. Some may disagree and think that there is only one valid interpretation, that's OK too. Maybe Satie would have agreed with that. I don't know, or care. As it stands, I am interested in exploring different pianists' interpretations of this great French composer's music.

Those I have listened to and enjoyed 

- Jean-Yves Thibaudet. I burned his 5CD complete piano works set from a friend years ago, and this is the Satie I was introduced for. Always loved it, never considered looking beyond until recently, after getting back into Satie following a hiatus from his music. 

- Pascal Rogé. I think he is extremely idiomatic with Satie and much other fin-de-siècle and XXème French music, from Saint-Saëns to Debussy to Ravel. I would like to hear more of his Satie. 

- Reinbert de Leeuw. This guy's recordings of Satie are extremely polarizing. It's amazing to my ears, and I find certain other posters' characterization of it as "zen" to be fitting. He definitely has a vision for this music, and it almost sounds like completely different music in his hands. I got a CD of his very recently and have been playing it nonstop. 

- Frank Glazer. An American pianist, Glazer apparently recorded the first complete (at the time) Satie piano music edition. I accidentally received one disc of this set and have been listening and enjoying it. I definitely want to hear more of his Satie.

One that I haven't heard and want to check out is Aldo Ciccolini. 

@Millionrainbows, on your praise of the Abravanel/Utah Satie recordings, I attempted to buy their disc of the complete Ballets. I received the aforementioned Glazer disc instead. Still need to get my hands on the Abravanel/Utah. I haven't heard any of Satie's non-piano music.


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## Josquin13

I'm not overly keen on all of Satie's solo piano music, and neither was he looking back. Some of it was surely intended to be humorous, or ironic or absurd--like his Vexations, which Satie meant to be played 840 times over again! (to irritate his audience, I gather). English composer Gavin Bryars has called the Vexations, "a sort of Ring des Nibelungen des pauvres" (or 'poor man's Ring'), and they may have been written in response to Wagner's lengthy operas, which Satie felt a certain defiance towards. Other pieces reflect the French cabaret hall where Satie worked as a pianist--such as Je te veus, Poudre d'or, and Le Picadilly, and are of a lesser quality (although they probably worked quite well within the ambience of a Parisian music hall). In his later years, Satie rejected all of his cabaret works as "vile", in a letter written to his brother Conrad (as quoted by Ornella Volta, in her book, "Satie seen through his Letters", 1989). Yet, there is no denying that Satie's intellect and solo piano music had a huge influence on both Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, and other important 20th century composers, such as Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, and the Spanish Catalan composer, Federico Mompou (who lived in Paris for a time), as well as on various contemporary composers, such as John Cage & Philip Glass, and certain rock & jazz musicians. His music has also been used extensively in films.

A. The following 13 pianists are my top recommendations for Satie's solo piano works, & in addition, I've added a section on historical Satie recordings--for those looking to do extensive sampling, in order to decide which pianist or pianists they most like in this music: I've listed them in no particular order of preference:

1. Roland Pontinen--Pontinen's Satie is excellent. I especially like his first Satie disc for BIS (of two): https://www.amazon.com/Piano-Works-...n+satie&qid=1554497168&s=music&sr=1-4-catcorr










https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Encore...n+satie&qid=1554497345&s=music&sr=1-1-catcorr

2. Daniel Varsano--Varsano was a student of Magda Tagliaferro, and not surprisingly, he had amazing finger control and sense of color at the piano. His Satie is exceptional:










3. Reinbert de Leeuw: de Leeuw has recorded Satie's 6 Gnossiennes twice, both times for Philips--the first is analog, & the second digital. I don't think any late analog or digital era pianist plays the 6 Gnossiennes quite as well as de Leeuw. At least, I've not heard a pianist play the 2nd Gnossienne with greater depth (*--see link below). Unlike Aldo Ciccolini & others, de Leeuw takes Satie's "Lent" marking as "Tres lent" or "very slow"--as with his 3 Gymnopédies (although the 6 Gnossiennes are in 'free time'). If you're used to Ciccolini, de Leeuw's slower tempi may take some adjusting. To my ears, de Leeuw evokes moods and scenes--a sense of loss, nostalgia, loneliness, & melancholy that other pianists lose with their quicker tempi. However, with that said, I wouldn't recommend de Leeuw's 3 Gymnopédies, which he plays much too slowly for my tastes. They can become almost static and motionless.

In addition, there are a number of other excellent performances by De Leeuw--such as his Ogives, Quatre Preludes, Sonneries De la Rose, and Danses Gothiques, on Philips: https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Danses...+de+leeuw+satie&qid=1554663139&s=music&sr=1-8.

The following is near ideal Satie playing, in my view:

de Leeuw--analog, Philips: 
1st Gnossiene: 



2nd Gnossienne*: 



4th Gnossiene: 



Full album: 



https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Early-...+de+leeuw+satie&qid=1554497943&s=music&sr=1-1
https://www.amazon.de/Frühe-Klavier...ert+de+leeuw&qid=1561833325&s=gateway&sr=8-20

de Leeuw--digital, Philips: 2nd Gnossienne*--Interestingly, de Leeuw has sped up slightly on his digital recording of the 2nd Gnossienne: 




Digital, Philips--Gnossiene No. 1: 




https://www.amazon.com/Gymnopdies-G...+de+leeuw+satie&qid=1554498016&s=music&sr=1-3)

Here are de Leeuw's extremely slow 3 Gymnopedies, which I don't recommend: 




Piéces Froides: 



Ogives: 



From Sonneries de la Rose - no. 3 (live): 




All of de Leeuw's digital Philips Satie discs are collected into a 3 CD box set (plus a DVD), which additionally includes fine recordings of Satie's underrated Mélodies--such as his Trois Mélodies (& especially the 2nd song, Élégie)--sung by soprano Marjanne Kewksilber: https://www.amazon.com/Piano-Music-...s+box+set&qid=1561840548&s=music&sr=1-1-fkmr1

Most recently, De Leeuw has recorded a well reviewed Winter & Winter CD of Satie's Trois Mélodies, Hymne, and Socrate, with soprano Barbara Hannigan: https://www.amazon.com/Socrate-Barb...annigan&qid=1554668828&s=music&sr=1-1-catcorr

4. Olaf Höjer's complete series on the Swedish Society label is excellent (but it was never boxed, as far as I know). Among complete surveys of Satie's piano music, this 'off the radar' set is well worth exploring, although occasionally I can find Höjer's playing rather straightforward:

Gnossiene No. 1: 



Gnossiene No. 2: 



Gnossiene No. 3: 




Volume 1: 



Volume 2: 



Volume 3: 



Volume 4: 



Volume 5: 



Volume 6: 




5. Aldo Ciccolini: For me, Ciccolini's pioneering late 1950s & 1966-67 analog EMI recordings are generally superior to his later digital cycle on EMI, despite that the latter set has better sound. Ciccolini was the first pianist to record Satie's solo piano works extensively (along with Jean-Joël Barbier, William Masselos, and Frank Glazer in the 1960s). His 1950s & 60s Satie recordings are the ones that established his reputation in this music, & introduced many people to Satie's piano works for the first time. However, Ciccolini didn't have a whole lot of competition back then, and there have been some excellent pianists to record Satie's music since. If I had a criticism of Ciccolini's Satie, it would be that he doesn't slow down enough in this music--in strong contrast to De Leeuw, who is at the opposite end of the spectrum, interpretatively. Indeed, Ciccolini tends to be in the faster range compared to most other pianists.


















https://www.amazon.com/Satie-LOeuvr...H2520F5JPB1&psc=1&refRID=5EV0AF54SH2520F5JPB1
https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Piano-...satie+ciccolini&qid=1562007247&s=music&sr=1-3

6. Anne Queffelec's Satie is superb, and she's well recorded, too: 




https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Gymnop...sic&sprefix=erik+satie+ann,popular,165&sr=1-1

7. Pascal Roge: For many listeners Roge is an ideal Satie interpreter. He doesn't slow down as much as De Leeuw, nor does he play too briskly, either--his interpretations are somewhere in the middle range (like Queffelec). At times, I feel that Roge uses too much pedal, and his Satie comes off as overly soft and 'new age' like, which causes the music to loose a sharper focus (although that could be due to the way his piano has been recorded, or perhaps the piano sound was later tampered with or modified on Roge's compilation disc entitled, "After the Rain... The Soft Sounds of Erik Satie"?--see link below). The exception is Roge's 1989 Satie Decca recording, which is remarkable, & essential for Roge's beautiful playing of the Cinq Nocturnes (1919-20)--it's one of my favorite Satie discs:










3 Gymnopédies & 6 Gnossiennes, etc.: 













https://www.amazon.com/After-Rain-S...tie+soft+sounds&qid=1562010887&s=music&sr=1-1

8. Steffan Schleiermacher: Schleiermacher has recorded a complete Satie survey for MDG, and there's much to enjoy in it. Like de Leeuw, he's particularly good in the Quatre Ogives & Preludes, Danses Gothiques, Sonneries de la Rose Croix, & Le Fils des Etoiles, and overall, I'd say his Satie is underrated:

https://www.amazon.com/Erik-Satie-P...iermacher+satie&qid=1554664639&s=music&sr=1-7
https://www.amazon.com/Erik-Satie-P...iermacher+satie&qid=1554664639&s=music&sr=1-4

It's a pity that MDG hasn't boxed Schleiermacher's survey, although perhaps he hasn't finished it yet? All that I could find of his survey on You Tube is this superb CD of Satie's "Melodies et Chansons", with baritone Holger Falk:





https://www.amazon.com/SATIE-HOLGER...music&sprefix=steffan+schl,popular,166&sr=1-1

9. France Clidat: Clidat's recordings of Satie's complete piano works won the Grand Prix du Disque in 1984, which meant something back in those days: 



. At times, Clidat can take a more Lisztian view of Satie's music, perhaps?--which may not be to all tastes, but she does manage to evoke an unusually keen sense of loss and nostalgia in her 3 Gymnopédies, which I find exceptional: 




10. Hakon Aüstbo: When I first heard Austbo's Satie it didn't become an instant favorite, but his recording has grown on me over time. He's a fine pianist, and worth hearing in Satie, and other French composers (along with Grieg, & Janacek): 




11. Jean-Yves Thibaudet--a complete set: Thibaudet was a student of Aldo Ciccolini's, and I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not. I wouldn't say that he copies Ciccolini's Satie, interpretatively, but I can't help but feel that Ciccolini had a strong influence over Thibaudet and his approach to Satie. I'm not sure that I can articulate why, but for some reason I wax and wane on these recordings. In the end, I'm not 100% on them. Overall, I think Thibaudet's Ravel is more interesting:










12. Bojan Gorisek--a complete set, including a fine CD of the Mélodies with soprano Jane Manning. I don't know Gorisek's extensive Satie survey that well, but from what I have heard, his interpretations are fresh, thoughtful, and quite distinctive. My only quibble is that he has a tendency to pound the keys very forcefully, at times, giving the music a stronger expressive emphasis than other pianists, & too heavily so, for my tastes (I found his Ives sonata the same way):

























CD box set (also available on individual CD issues): https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Comple...n+Gorisek+satie&qid=1554671081&s=music&sr=1-5

13. Marcel Worms' Satie is a recent discovery for me, and he seems to be in the process of recording a complete Satie cycle. I had liked Worms playing of Mompou's Musica Callada, as well as his recording of various chamber works by Milhaud, with Ensemble Polytonaal, so I took a chance on his Satie & have found it very good:

























https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Works-...rms+satie&qid=1554670159&s=music&sr=1-1-spell

I've not listened to the Satie recordings by Noriko Ogawa, Klara Kormendi, Jean-Pierre Armengaud (with Dominque Merlet), Alexandre Tharaud, or Frank Glazer. But among those I've not heard, I'd most like to hear Evelyne Crochet's Satie, as her old Philips LP recording is now available on CD, via the pianist's website (see link below):





https://www.amazon.com/Evelyne-Croc...e+Crochet+satie&qid=1561756582&s=music&sr=1-1 
http://evelynecrochet.com/purchase.html

B. Historical recordings:

Unfortunately, many of the legendary French pianists with ties back to Satie's era didn't record any of Satie's music: most notably Marcelle Meyer, who despite that she was Satie's favorite pianist & a friend never recorded his piano works--including, most conspicuously, his Nocturne no. 1, which Satie dedicated to her. Yet Meyer recorded all of Debussy's music, and Ravel's... perhaps Satie & Meyer had a falling out that isn't recorded?, or maybe when Satie became estranged from Debussy, Meyer was forced to pick sides, and resentments followed? I'm only guessing, of course. I don't know why Meyer didn't record any of Satie's piano works, but I do find it odd that she didn't at least record his Cinq Nocturnes. After all, it was Satie that kindly introduced her to Debussy, which as it turned out, helped her career.

--Here a filmmaker has re-imagined Meyer playing Satie in the following short film: 




--Ricardo Viñes is another pianist that played Satie's music in recital, but never recorded any of it.

--Magda Tagliaferro: to my knowledge, Tagliaferro never recorded Satie's music, either, but curiously, she did record music by most of the other notable French composers of the period.

--Frances Poulenc--Considering that Poulenc's own solo piano music is more or less derivative of Satie's, it's not surprising to find that he made some excellent recordings of Satie's music:










--Jacques Fevrier (who was a friend of Ravel's): 




--William Masselos (who studied with Carl Friedberg, who was a friend of Brahms & a Clara Schumann student):


















--Jean-Joël Barbier--Barbier was a student of Lazare Lévy, who taught a number of the great French pianists of the 20th century. He recorded a complete set of Satie's solo piano music for the French Accord label between 1963-1971--but unfortunately, Barbier wasn't given the best sound engineering, as his piano can become a bit thin, dry, and occasionally even clangorous; although that could have more to do the early CDs (from the 1980s) than the original sound engineering, as the recordings may simply need to be newly remastered (?). I understand that Barbier's Satie is highly regarded in France:










--Robert & Gaby Casadesus played Satie's four hand music, such Trois Morceaux en form de poire:




https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FENP4Z8/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp

Here Gaby Casadesus plays the 3rd Gnossienne (this is great Satie playing!): 




--The piano duo Gold and Fizdale also recorded some of Satie's four hand and two-piano music, as well, such as En habit de cheval (they were also friends with Poulenc, & Barber, etc., & wrote award-winning cookbooks!): 




The following looks like a very interesting Satie box set, entitled "Erik Satie & Friends", but I don't own it myself: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FENMINE/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp

--Finally, here's a great rarity: an old LP recording of French pianist Claude Helffer playing 3 Satie Gnossiennes and the 1st Gymnopedies in the soundtrack to Louis Malle's 1963 film, Le Feu follet ("The Fire within"): 



. Despite the LP crackles, and the occasional tonal imperfections of the piano sound (due to the LP's age), this is ideal Satie playing, in my opinion.

I'd be interested if people know of any other recordings by 'historical' French pianists of Satie's piano music, and particularly from those pianists that knew Satie?


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## flamencosketches

I picked up Pascal Rogé's "3 Gymnopédies & other piano works", a famous CD he recorded for Decca, brand new today for $3. What a steal! Been listening to & enjoying that today. Between Rogé, de Leuuw, and Glazer, I like the three just about equally, with de Leeuw just barely edging the other two out on account of the depth he extracts from these works – but I think they often work just as well played "straight". I still need to hear Ciccolini, and I didn't realize de Leuuw had previously recorded Satie's piano works in Analog; going to have to track down that earlier set. I have a 1995 Philips single disc with the Gymnopédies, Gnossiennes, Sarabandes, and Ogives in DDD and the piano sounds just phenomenal. So rich and dark.


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## starthrower

I've got the 13 disc box set Erik Satie and Friends, and a single disc on Erato by Michel Legrand. That's all the Satie I need. The box includes some historical recordings and the Daniel Varsano piano disc.

https://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=2168970


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## Rogerx

Another vote for Reinbert de Leeuw and Jean-Yves Thibaudet.


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## Guest

Sorry, but de Leeuw's interpreations are unbearably slow. If it's what you first heard and have grown up with, I daresay everyone else's seem unbearably fast, so I recognise it's personal. I have Rogé and McCabe, with the Rogé better.


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## flamencosketches

Just picked up a two-disc set of Aldo Ciccolini's Satie at my dad's record store. The recordings are from 1966 to 1971, so I guess this would be from his earlier traversal. Excited to hear it.


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## Josquin13

One that I forgot--I should have mentioned pianist Janne Mertanen's Satie playing above. I first encountered Mertanen's pianism on a CD of solo piano works by the Finnish composer Joonas Kokkonen--a year or so ago, and I thought his playing was excellent (& recorded in superb audiophile sound quality by the Alba label). Mertanen should be better known! His Satie is exceptional, IMO:






https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8034061--satie-piano-music


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