# Erik Satie



## oogabooha

oh, I'm surprised that he doesn't have a thread here either.

I (like many other listeners) have admired Satie not only for his innovation, but also for his eccentric personality. He was a very innovative individual, and he really didn't have to _care_ to be sincere. He didn't _want_ to do the big, Wagnerian shows of the day, and instead was focused on making his music perfect.

*"I have never written a note I didn't mean."
--Erik Satie*


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## BurningDesire

Satie was an amazing composer.


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## Itullian

yes he was.
amazing at creating moods.


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## Art Rock

He was one of the first classical composers I explored because of his acknowledged influence on David Sylvian, one of my favourite pop/rock artists.


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## ArcticFox

I've heard one or two of his pieces and I really like that melancholic, nostalgic, dream-like landscape that he was able to create. His music is soft and simple compared to the piano pieces of other composers but it is quite pretty and memorable. A unique, quirky composer whose music I'd like to get to know better.


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## Manxfeeder

Erik Satie is the reason I picked up classical music after a 20-year hiatus. He was a good introduction to 20th-Century music, because he anticipated many of its developments. He was also a good introduction to Gothic music because of his early pieces. Yeah, he's a good composer to know.


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## Guest

So which performers do Satie lovers prefer? Pascal Roge? Reinbert De Leeuw? John McCabe?


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## Pugg

MacLeod said:


> So which performers do Satie lovers prefer? Pascal Roge? Reinbert De Leeuw? John McCabe?


 *Reinbert De Leeuw *:tiphat:

It's the standard .


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## deprofundis

I like to point out finally bought a copie of Satie ''gnosienne'' there is also ''gymnopédies'' that i like a bit less, too depressing maybe (if there is sutch thing).But for Gnosienne 1-6 it's fantastic, the climax is peacefull, calm, magical and mezmerizing...his music is gonna stay in my mind forever.

When i first heard it back than when i was a kid , did not like it mutch, so it took me 30yrs to like it my dad love this stuff he has it on vynil a good recording, got a naxos version but its ok, since im broke these days. the pianist is a hungarian of the bartokian school , from what i read(this is rad).


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## Kobak

I like his Gnossiennes and Gymnopédies. But do not listen to them when you are down, they'll just make you even more depressed xD


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## Triplets

MacLeod said:


> So which performers do Satie lovers prefer? Pascal Roge? Reinbert De Leeuw? John McCabe?


Aldo Ciccolini. I have had his recordings since the 70s


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## Manxfeeder

MacLeod said:


> So which performers do Satie lovers prefer? Pascal Roge? Reinbert De Leeuw? John McCabe?


Personally, De Leeuw for the Rose + Cross works and Ciccolini for the humerous/satirical works.


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## Blake

Anyone have an opinion on Thibaudet? I'm still quite new to Satie, so I don't know what characteristics of playing he requires... but I'd like to check out newer sets. I've been having this set in my library for several months, but haven't really dove in yet.


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## joen_cph

Warner is said to release a "Complete Works" by Satie box - 8 CD - at an attractive price in mid-November, according to Presto Classical. Less than 30 € there. Probably mainly EMI recordings, including Ciccolini´s.


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## Manxfeeder

joen_cph said:


> Warner is said to release a "Complete Works" by Satie box - 8 CD - at an attractive price in mid-November, according to Presto Classical. Less than 30 € there. Probably mainly EMI recordings, including Ciccolini´s.


That sounds interesting. It's nice that you can fit his complete works on eight CDs.


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## joen_cph

Yeah, I don´t think that the complete works have been assembled like this before for a release.


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## Vaneyes

Blake said:


> Anyone have an opinion on Thibaudet? I'm still quite new to Satie, so I don't know what characteristics of playing he requires... but I'd like to check out newer sets. I've been having this set in my library for several months, but haven't really dove in yet.
> 
> View attachment 56846


In my auditioning of, I didn't like anything about it. A ringing acoustic coupled with harsh playing and ill-sounding instrument. It's somewhat ironic that Ciccolini was one of Thibaudet's teachers. Cheers! :tiphat:


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## Vaneyes

MacLeod said:


> So which performers do Satie lovers prefer? Pascal Roge? Reinbert De Leeuw? John McCabe?


For me, it's Ciccolini, then Frank Glazer (VOX, 1960's). From the rest, Roge. Cheers!


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## millionrainbows

For me, it's Bojan Gorisek, then Ciccolini. There's an earlier analog set by Ciccolini, too.

~
http://www.amazon.com/Satie-Complet...442948209&sr=1-5&keywords=Bojan+Gorisek/Satie
http://www.amazon.com/Satie-Complet...442948209&sr=1-5&keywords=Bojan+Gorisek/Satie


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## Manxfeeder

millionrainbows said:


> For me, it's Bojan Gorisek


I haven't heard him yet. Thanks for the heads-up.


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## millionrainbows

Manxfeeder said:


> I haven't heard him yet. Thanks for the heads-up.


Gorisek has also done some excellent George Crumb, and has a version of Charles Ives' Concord Sonata that is my favorite except for Ralph Kirkpatrick (not on CD that I know of). He is Eastern European, and I get the impression that he is a really humble, nice person from what I've read. The recording quality of his label, Audiophile Classics, is great, as are the gold discs themselves. I has to go to a UK website to get all of their Beethoven series.


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## Manxfeeder

millionrainbows said:


> Gorisek has also done some excellent George Crumb, and has a version of Charles Ives' Concord Sonata that is my favorite except for Ralph Kirkpatrick (not on CD that I know of).


Thanks. I'm interested in his Concord Sonata. The recording I have isn't doing it for me.


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## Heliogabo

Joyeaux anniversaire monsieur Satie.
150 years today! 
And your music sounds still new.


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## Manxfeeder

Heliogabo said:


> Joyeaux anniversaire monsieur Satie.
> 150 years today!
> And your music sounds still new.


It's today? Thanks for the heads-up. How do I honor the Velvet Gentleman?


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## Pugg

Heliogabo said:


> Joyeaux anniversaire monsieur Satie.
> 150 years today!
> And your music sounds still new.


Wild guess.... for a long time to come :tiphat:


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## Vaneyes

A glimpse of Erik's life.

https://studiosparis.wordpress.com/tag/erik-saties-former-home-in-montmartre/


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## starthrower

Heliogabo said:


> Joyeaux anniversaire monsieur Satie.
> 150 years today!
> And your music sounds still new.


Wonderful set celebrating his 150th birthday. Original jackets, and historic disc featuring Poulenc on piano. http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Sony/88875177492#listen


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## Pugg

starthrower said:


> Wonderful set celebrating his 150th birthday. Original jackets, and historic disc featuring Poulenc on piano. http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Sony/88875177492#listen


Some people going to complain, how to categorize this in their collection. 
( To much composers)


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## Xenakigirl

Erik Satie is such an enjoyable composer, I don't see the reason why people don't see his value as a composer like Cage. Cage carried on where Satie started, though Cage was also inspired by Webern.


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## Pugg

Xenakigirl said:


> Erik Satie is such an enjoyable composer, I don't see the reason why people don't see his value as a composer like Cage. Cage carried on where Satie started, though Cage was also inspired by Webern.


Is this a double account , ore the boys, girlfriend?


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## joen_cph

A good Wiki article on "_Sports et Divertissements_" (1914):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_et_divertissements


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## Vaneyes

joen_cph said:


> A good Wiki article on "_Sports et Divertissements_" (1914):
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_et_divertissements


Thanks for that. I haven't delved them prior. i particularly enjoy...

11. _*Le Golf*_ (_Golf_) - Exalté
_Excitedly_. In a sketch of a text related to _Sports_, Satie described golf as "a sport for mature men who have retired...Old English colonels especially excel at it."[SUP][36][/SUP] Satie kept this idea as the basis for _Le Golf_, introducing a colonel dressed in "Scotch tweed of a violent green." He confidently strides through the links, intimidating even the holes in the ground and the clouds in the sky. His march-like theme remarkably prefigures Vincent Youmans' classic 1925 song _Tea for Two_.[SUP][37][/SUP] The pompous colonel is deflated when his "fine swing" causes his club to shatter into pieces, described in the score by a sweep of ascending fourths.


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## sctubes

Looking to add a copy of "Gnossiennes" to my collection.


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## shostythesnowman

Satie's Gnossiene #5 is my favorite of his works.
All the other Gnossienes and Gymnopodies are a tad depressing but this one has an exceptionally hopeful air.
I highly recommend Satie to anyone who will listen.


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## Manxfeeder

shostythesnowman said:


> Satie's Gnossiene #5 is my favorite of his works.


That's the piece that got me back into classical music after a, I don't know, 20-year hiatus. I was working late and had the radio on to some pianist's recital, when for an encore he played this simple yet compelling piece. I had to track down the piece, then I had to learn about Satie. I've been an enthusiast both of Satie and classical music since then.


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## Czech composer

Hello everyone! 




This is just a little selfpromotion. I´ve just recorded Satie´s Le Fils des Étoiles.
If you like it you can check my other stuff on my youtube channel and consider subscribing.
I would be very grateful

Martin


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## Ziggabea

Cool !


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## yetti66

Satie wore the same suit every day (12 matching velvet suits) - enabling people to have stronger and perfectly consistent mental image of him. 

I very highly recommend his vocal piece "SOCRATE" - a beautiful and unique score.


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## Pugg

Czech composer said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This is just a little selfpromotion. I´ve just recorded Satie´s Le Fils des Étoiles.
> If you like it you can check my other stuff on my youtube channel and consider subscribing.
> I would be very grateful
> 
> Martin


Brave to put yourself out in the open.:clap:


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## Totenfeier

I must be wired differently than many of you, because I don't find the Gymnopedies depressing at all. They are elegant, mesmerizing, uplifting and quite peaceful.


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## laurie

Totenfeier said:


> I must be wired differently than many of you, because I don't find the Gymnopedies depressing at all. They are elegant, mesmerizing, uplifting and quite peaceful.


I don't think they're depressing, either... I agree with your description, & would add
contemplative, & lovely .


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## Manxfeeder

yetti66 said:


> I very highly recommend his vocal piece "SOCRATE" - a beautiful and unique score.


Yep. I'm a big fan of the piece. Ned Rorem was also a big fan. He commented, "Satie's page was minimal, but that minimum was perfect."


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## Myriadi

A friend studying music criticism has shown me this amusing tidbit from "A Musical Motley". It's a 1919 book by one of the most famous British critics of the 20th century, Ernest Newman. He was very critical of Satie, finding his music amateurish and gimmicky, and he even went as far as to say...

_It may be said, again, that [Engelbert Humperdinck's] Hänsel and Gretel is written in a traditional idiom, and any one of Erik Satie's fantasies in an original idiom; but all the same we should most of us prefer an evening at the piano with Humperdinck to one with Satie, and there can be little question which of the two composers will be remembered and which forgotten fifty years hence. It becomes evident already that there is an originality that matters and an originality that does not; Satie's is an instance of the latter._

:devil:

I have to confess I thought Engelbert Humperdinck was a pop singer... turns out he was an obscure opera composer and the singer simply took the name. Very bizzare! But yes, there can indeed be little question, etc.


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## Pugg

> I have to confess I thought Engelbert Humperdinck was a pop singer... turns out he was an obscure opera composer and the singer simply took the name. Very bizzare! But yes, there can indeed be little question, etc.


Obscure..................


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## Myriadi

Pugg said:


> Obscure..................


I'm sorry, would you say he is a well known composer? I've never heard his name in several decades of listening to CM, let alone any of his music. Certainly it's easy to find people using the word "obscure" when discussing him, e.g. here:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/p...et-life-of-engelbert-humperdinck-9188413.html
https://scroll.in/magazine/816913/t...s-legendary-opera-based-on-a-grimm-fairy-tale

I didn't mean to offend anybody, just sharing a story about how dangerous it can be to be so sure in your predictions of the future.


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## Manxfeeder

Myriadi said:


> A friend studying music criticism has shown me this amusing tidbit from "A Musical Motley". It's a 1919 book by one of the most famous British critics of the 20th century, Ernest Newman. He was very critical of Satie, finding his music amateurish and gimmicky.


That's funny. I remember the '50s edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica calling him a "genius with little talent." Erik Satie's star sure has risen since the '60s.


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## Pat Fairlea

I'm very partial to Satie's whimsical minimalism. Pascal Roge, in particular, allows the music to speak for itself, avoiding the temptation to over-emote. Some recordings draw out the tempo in an attempt to accentuate the 'feeling' with the result that the lyrical flow breaks up. Yitkin Seow, in particular, seems to 'milk' Satie's music excessively. The other thing I love about Satie is that his music is often simple enough for a duffer like me to play.


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## Pugg

Myriadi said:


> I'm sorry, would you say he is a well known composer? I've never heard his name in several decades of listening to CM, let alone any of his music. Certainly it's easy to find people using the word "obscure" when discussing him, e.g. here:
> 
> http://www.independent.co.uk/news/p...et-life-of-engelbert-humperdinck-9188413.html
> https://scroll.in/magazine/816913/t...s-legendary-opera-based-on-a-grimm-fairy-tale
> 
> I didn't mean to offend anybody, just sharing a story about how dangerous it can be to be so sure in your predictions of the future.


Well, well know is a broad as you want to see it, take a look at the link.

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/c/Humperdinck


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## Guest

Myriadi said:


> I'm sorry, would you say he is a well known composer? I've never heard his name in several decades of listening to CM, let alone any of his music. Certainly it's easy to find people using the word "obscure" when discussing him, e.g. here:
> 
> http://www.independent.co.uk/news/p...et-life-of-engelbert-humperdinck-9188413.html
> https://scroll.in/magazine/816913/t...s-legendary-opera-based-on-a-grimm-fairy-tale
> 
> I didn't mean to offend anybody, just sharing a story about how dangerous it can be to be so sure in your predictions of the future.


Interesting - perhaps the journalist who wrote the article in _The Independent _thought him obscure, but that doesn't make him so. There are many obscurer...in my opinion...I'd heard of Humperdinck long before I'd heard of, say, Steve Reich or John Adams!


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## Vaneyes

5 *Erik Alfred Leslie* *Satie *(1866 - 1925)things.

http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/Article/304597,five-things-you-didn-t-know-about-erik-satie.aspx

The two most intriguing things for me are...

1. His slow 10K daily walk from his apartment to various Paris cafes, carrying a hammer for self defense.

2. His first and last love interest, painter Suzanne Valadon (1865 - 1938).

Valadon's 1893 Satie portrait, and 1927 self portrait.


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## Blancrocher

From Alex Ross' blog:



> In my piece on Joséphin Péladan and the Salons de la Rose + Croix, I devote some space to Erik Satie's astonishing score for Péladan's mystical drama Le Fils des Étoiles, which was produced in conjunction with the first Salon in 1892. I first discovered the work as a teen-ager; I had bought a copy of the Dover compendium of Satie piano music, and became fascinated with what was described inscrutably as a "Wagnérie Kaldéenne de Sâr Péladan." I used to play the opening six-note chords at ear-splitting volume, somewhat in defiance of the instruction "En blanc et immobile." Not until I commenced work on my long-gestating book Wagnerism did I attempt to come to terms with Péladan's writing. Needless to say, there will be a sizable section on Péladan in the fourth chapter of the book, titled "Grail Temple: Mystic, Decadent, and Satanic Wagner."
> 
> What many people don't realize about Le Fils des Étoiles - to the extent they realize anything about this still obscure score - is that the three Preludes printed in standard Satie editions are only a portion of the music that Satie wrote for the play. There is actually about an hour of music extant: one can see the complete work in a fine Bärenreiter Urtext edition.


http://www.therestisnoise.com/2017/06/le-fils-des-étoiles.html

The complete music can be heard here:


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## Larkenfield

Czech composer said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This is just a little selfpromotion. I´ve just recorded Satie´s Le Fils des Étoiles.
> If you like it you can check my other stuff on my youtube channel and consider subscribing.
> I would be very grateful
> 
> Martin


 Bravo. Well done. I've heard performances were too much pedal is used and it becomes a muddy harmonic mess. I thought this one was perfect.


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## Larkenfield

Blancrocher said:


> From Alex Ross' blog:
> 
> http://www.therestisnoise.com/2017/06/le-fils-des-étoiles.html
> 
> The complete music can be heard here:


I could not have taken an hour of this pedal to the metal performance. It sounds like the pianist isn't even hearing himself as the overly pedaled harmonies clash and turn into a muddy soup.


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## Josquin13

Macleod asks, "So which performers do Satie lovers prefer? Pascal Roge? Reinbert De Leeuw? John McCabe?"

1) I admire Reinbert De Leeuw's Satie. I find it daring of De Leeuw to play Satie so slowly at times. I've never heard the 2nd Gnossienne played more beautifully than by De Leeuw (or work so well), for instance. I certainly wouldn't want to be without either his 1st (1980) or 2nd digital recording of the 6 Gnossiennes (both for Philips), as they're arguably the finest in the catalogue:














Yet, De Leeuw's 3 Gymnopedies are just too slow and drawn out for me. I don't think they work well when played that slowly, and I prefer others in this music. De Leeuw's 2nd Philips box set survey (the digital one) is also invaluable for the CD of Satie Mélodies that it includes. Satie's songs are surprisingly interesting works, among his finest music I think. De Leeuw has also recently recorded "Socrate" with soprano Barbara Hannigan. I haven't heard that CD yet, but the reviews have been favorable.

https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Early-...qid=1517869871&sr=1-1&keywords=de+leeuw+satie (These are De Leeuw's earlier analogue recordings from around 1980.)
https://www.amazon.com/Gymnopdies-G...qid=1517858021&sr=1-4&keywords=de+leeuw+satie
https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Danses...qid=1517858021&sr=1-8&keywords=de+leeuw+satie
https://www.amazon.com/Piano-Music-...id=1517858021&sr=1-10&keywords=de+leeuw+satie
https://www.amazon.com/Socrate-Barb...qid=1517858021&sr=1-3&keywords=de+leeuw+satie

2) As for Pascal Roge, I've enjoyed his Satie too. I consider Roge's Satie and Poulenc to be among his finest recordings in the French repertory. However, in the 3 Gymnopedies & 6 Gnossiennes I can at times find Roge a bit too soft-hued and dreamy (or new agey), though it depends on my mood. For me, Roge is more interesting elsewhere in Satie, such as on this very fine album:

https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Piano-...F8&qid=1517858484&sr=8-26&keywords=Roge+satie

Though occasionally I'll be in the mood for Roge's more soft-hued treatment of the Gymnopedies & Gnossiennes:

https://www.amazon.com/Satie-After-...TF8&qid=1517858465&sr=8-4&keywords=Roge+satie

3) As for Aldo Ciccolini, I consider his first EMI traversal of Satie's solo piano works from the 1960s to be superior to his later digital survey for EMI, which I didn't overly care for, & wouldn't recommend (though it has better sound than the early survey).

Bear in mind that when Ciccolini made his first Satie series in the 1960s (1966-71), he had little competition in this repertory. There weren't many Satie recordings in the catalogue, and no pianist had yet done a complete survey of Satie's piano music. As a result, Ciccolini developed a big reputation in this music, but it was essentially by default. I'm not saying it isn't fine Satie playing, as it is, and Ciccolini certainly deserves a lot of credit for introducing many classical music lovers to the music of Satie. But I think there have been better Satie pianists to come along since Ciccolini (like De Leeuw, Varsano, Clidat, Pontinen, & Höjer); although I wouldn't want to be without his excellent 1960s EMI box set, even if his 3 Gymnopedies can now sound slightly too fast to me, in places:

https://www.amazon.com/Satie-LOeuvr...id=1517858968&sr=1-5&keywords=satie+ciccolini
https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Piano-...YX&dpID=414YDRBHC4L&preST=_QL70_&dpSrc=detail

4) In addition to De Leeuw, four of my other favorite Satie pianists are Roland Pontinen, Daniel Varsano, France Clidat, and Olaf Höjer. I've also liked an excellent single Satie disc from Håkon Austbø.

Pontinen is particularly underrated in Satie, in my view. For me, he's one of the finest Satie pianists today. This early Pontinen recording is one of my favorite Satie discs:

https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Piano-...&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=rolando+pontinen+satie

On Pontinen's later Satie disc, he appears to have rethought the music, and his generally slower tempi are possibly influenced by De Leeuw's digital survey (?):

https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Encore...&sr=1-2-fkmr0&keywords=rolando+pontinen+satie










At times, France Clidat takes a more Lisztian view of Satie perhaps, but it works. She is poetic & gentle too, not too fast, but not too slow either. Her survey won the French Grand Prix du Disque in 1984, and is among the finest Satie in the catalogue, IMO:

https://www.amazon.com/Erik-Satie-C...8&qid=1517862672&sr=1-2&keywords=Clidat+satie






https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Gymnop...8&qid=1517865565&sr=1-1&keywords=austbo+Satie

Among the complete surveys of Satie's solo piano music, pianist Olaf Höjer's extensive, rather 'off the radar' series for the Swedish Society label was a real sleeper. While there may be pianists that I prefer to Höjer in Satie on an individual basis, nevertheless, I'd take Höjer's survey over Ciccolini's later digital one, and Thibaudet's on Decca as well (though maybe not De Leeuw's 1st Phillips survey). Unfortunately, all 5 volumes can be find now, as it's apparently gone out of print. However, volumes 1 & 2, at least, still seem to be available at a reasonable price:

https://www.amazon.com/Erik-Satie-C...517862825&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=Hojer+satie
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004UXYT1Y/ref=pd_mp3_als_qp_pa
https://www.amazon.com/Reverie-pauv...517862825&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=Hojer+satie
https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Comple...517862825&sr=1-4-catcorr&keywords=Hojer+satie
https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Comple...517862825&sr=1-5-catcorr&keywords=Hojer+satie

Among other cycles, I've found parts of Steffen Schleiermacher's survey on MDG to be worthwhile, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet's Decca cycle too.

https://www.amazon.com/Erik-Satie-P...UTF8&qid=1517863289&sr=8-1&keywords=MDG+satie

Finally, Daniel Varsano's single Satie album is another one of my favorites. Varsano, who died young, was a student of the legendary Brazilian pianist Magda Tagliaferro, who had premiered works by Reynaldo Hahn, and played Faure's Dolly Suite with the composer on tour. Like his teacher, Varsano had incredible finger control and a wonderful sense of color, which sets his Satie apart & makes it very special. There have been many reissues of Varsano's recording, so if interested, you might want to do a full search in order to find the best price:

https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Varsa...mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=Varsano+Satie

https://www.amazon.com/Sateipmeikiy...&qid=1517863870&sr=1-8&keywords=Varsano+Satie
https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Piano-...&qid=1517863870&sr=1-1&keywords=Varsano+Satie
https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Piano-...&qid=1517863870&sr=1-2&keywords=Varsano+Satie
https://www.amazon.com/Satie-Gymnop...mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=Varsano+Satie


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## Capeditiea

Bumping because Satie is great.


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## Rogerx

*R.I.P Mr de Leeuw*






Erik Satie early pianoworks - Reinbert de Leeuw - part 1



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinbert_de_Leeuw


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## flamencosketches

Rest in peace to a towering artist. Perhaps, tied with the very different Aldo Ciccolini, the greatest Satie interpreter of his time.


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## Manxfeeder

flamencosketches said:


> Rest in peace to a towering artist. Perhaps, tied with the very different Aldo Ciccolini, the greatest Satie interpreter of his time.


Aw, I'm sorry to hear that. When I'm his age, I hope I'm as cool as he still was.


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## millionrainbows

Some of my favorite Satie, by one of my favorite pianists:


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## flamencosketches

millionrainbows said:


> Some of my favorite Satie, by one of my favorite pianists:


That looks great, but not for 75 bucks. I'll keep my eyes peeled for cheaper copies.

I've been listening to the late Reinbert de Leeuw. His Satie is really something else.


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## Rogerx

flamencosketches said:


> That looks great, but not for 75 bucks. I'll keep my eyes peeled for cheaper copies.
> 
> I've been listening to the late Reinbert de Leeuw. His Satie is really something else.


His family is still getting money( royalties) from the record company for that recordings. 
Sold by the thousand and thousands.


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## flamencosketches

Rogerx said:


> His family is still getting money( royalties) from the record company for that recordings.
> Sold by the thousand and thousands.


Good! I know Decca has reissued them in recent years. A new generation of people is being touched by his performances, including myself. Rest in peace.


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## Rogerx

*May 17th Erik Satie*



1866 Erik Satie, French composer


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## millionrainbows

Satie represents "art" in music, and that's why he's so reviled and/or ignored in conservative quarters. John Cage loved him, so you must hate him. Satie got rid of a lot of baggage in music; heresy! Heresy! Satie is the Devil!

Are any of you out there brave enough to listen to Satie and defend his legacy? I seriously doubt it!

[URL="https://www.amazon.com/Homage-MAURICE-SYMPHONY-ORCHESTRA-ABRAVANEL/dp/B0007IA56Y/ref=sr_1_125?dchild=1&keywords=Erik+Satie&qid=1591118790&s=music&sr=1-125"]

[/URL]


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## Mandryka

millionrainbows said:


> Satie represents "art" in music, and that's why he's so reviled and/or ignored in conservative quarters. John Cage loved him, so you must hate him. Satie got rid of a lot of baggage in music; heresy! Heresy! Satie is the Devil!
> 
> Are any of you out there brave enough to listen to Satie and defend his legacy? I seriously doubt it!
> 
> [URL="https://www.amazon.com/Homage-MAURICE-SYMPHONY-ORCHESTRA-ABRAVANEL/dp/B0007IA56Y/ref=sr_1_125?dchild=1&keywords=Erik+Satie&qid=1591118790&s=music&sr=1-125"]
> 
> [/URL]


If you're interested in Satie and Cage, then you owe it to yourself to hear Satie played by a Cage specialist. Someone how takes the frenchness out and puts the modernity in. This


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## Mandryka

Inspired by the thread idea I just started to play this CD and it became obvious what a big big influence Satie is -- on Howard Skempton, for example, and Michael Crane and Richard Emsley. My feeling is, this could be nonsense, that he's a much bigger influence in Britain than elsewhere.


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## flamencosketches

Mandryka said:


> If you're interested in Satie and Cage, then you owe it to yourself to hear Satie played by a Cage specialist. Someone how takes the frenchness out and puts the modernity in. This
> 
> View attachment 137170


I am interested in this. How many volumes are there? Do you think the one you pictured is the best one? I have a Schleiermacher Cage 2CD sitting on my desk unopened. I've been listening more to Giancarlo Simonacci's Cage recordings when I'm in a Cage mood, which is less frequently as of late.


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## Manxfeeder

Mandryka said:


> If you're interested in Satie and Cage, then you owe it to yourself to hear Satie played by a Cage specialist. Someone how takes the frenchness out and puts the modernity in. This


One of my tests for Satie interpreters is Ogives. To me, they should sound like bells. (I have a fantasy of going to the carillion at Hearst Castle and playing the Ogives, letting them echo over the California hills.) Schleiermacher makes them sound like huge bells. I can see Hearst holding his ears.


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## millionrainbows

I've got some of Schleiermacher's recordings, but the piano has too much ambience and hall sound. That makes it sound un-modern to me, like he's trying to give it classical concert-hall cred.


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## Mandryka

millionrainbows said:


> I've got some of Schleiermacher's recordings, but the piano has too much ambience and hall sound. That makes it sound un-modern to me, like he's trying to give it classical concert-hall cred.


MDG sound, I think it's truthful.


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## Mandryka

Manxfeeder said:


> One of my tests for Satie interpreters is Ogives. To me, they should sound like bells. (I have a fantasy of going to the carillion at Hearst Castle and playing the Ogives, letting them echo over the California hills.) Schleiermacher makes them sound like huge bells. I can see Hearst holding his ears.


He certainly isn't a delicate or nuanced pianist.

By the way, I discovered Schleiermacher through his Scelsi, which I very much like.


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## Mandryka

flamencosketches said:


> I am interested in this. How many volumes are there? Do you think the one you pictured is the best one? I have a Schleiermacher Cage 2CD sitting on my desk unopened. I've been listening more to Giancarlo Simonacci's Cage recordings when I'm in a Cage mood, which is less frequently as of late.


It's the only one I have, because the music on it is the stuff which interests me the most from Satie.


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## millionrainbows

In the 1960s, people were really interested in Satie, because he was Romantic and simple, and it fit in perfectly. This box is a good retrospective of how Columbia was cashing-in on this Satie craze. In fact, I first heard of Erik Satie on the opening of the second_ Blood, Sweat, and Tears_ album. Listen to Entremont trying to be 'hip,' with his hair combed-down and wearing a turtleneck shirt with a suit-jacket. Rod McKuen, anyone?


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## helenora

I wonder why almost entire thread is about his piano works and no mentioning of his " *Parade*"? It is gorgeous music, a lot of fantasy of a true artist in it, it is colorful in terms of usage of orchestration work done by a composer! wow! simply mind blowing! It is provoking, yet striking and for sure very eccentric!


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## Guest

I was first attracted to Satie by the Camarata Contemporary Chamber Group's very singular interpretations. I think they did two albums (I have both). Here's an extract from the first.








helenora said:


> I wonder why almost entire thread is about his piano works and no mentioning of his " *Parade*"? It is gorgeous music, a lot of fantasy of a true artist in it, it is colorful in terms of usage of orchestration work done by a composer! wow! simply mind blowing! It is provoking, yet striking and for sure very eccentric!


I watched a presentation of the ballet last year - loved the costumes - a facsimile of the original. This one, I think, but not filmed off a TV transmission.


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## SanAntone

Listening to the _Gymnopedies_ and _Gnossiennes_ from this complete set of the solo piano music -

View attachment 151547


I remember when I first heard these works. I was in music school, and something of a fish out of water. My background had not been in classical music when I entered music school to study theory and composition. I had been playing jazz. So, when I heard these works, I found a harmonic language that was familiar. I had and still feel that the sound of most classical music was foreign to me. Of course this is true, it is European and I am a 100% American. The music that was in my blood was jazz, blues, R&B, rock - the last thing I could relate to was Beethoven, Mozart and especially Wagner.

But with Satie I heard major-seventh chords resolving to unrelated chords in modal progressions. Just like what I had been playing in countless jazz improvisations.

Here's a quote from Morton Feldman, another favorite composer of mine, that lays out the idea of breaking with the traditional classical tradition in order to create a new classical music:

_Feldman, echoing Cage, wrote of his earliest compositional orientation that, "Only by 'unfixing' the elements traditionally used to construct a piece of music could the sounds exist in themselves-not as symbols, or memories which were memories of other music to begin with". The stated desire of the composer was to penetrate beneath, beyond, the perceived historical obstructions to hearing, arriving unencumbered at the origins of unmediated sound, into the very heart of its sonorous matter._

I later came to understand than Satie was an inspiration to John Cage.

Cage, Feldman, and Satie - these were some of my composer heroes when I was younger and in music school. I still listen to their music, and it still has the power to unhinge traditional classical music lovers.


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## RogerWaters

I adore Satie’s Gnossienes. But I also love Beethoven, mozart and wagner, along with a hell of a lot of other music.


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## SanAntone

RogerWaters said:


> I adore Satie's Gnossienes. But I also love Beethoven, mozart and wagner, along with a hell of a lot of other music.


Oh, sure, I do too. By the time I left music school I had developed a healthy appreciation for the classical music repertory. Although I've never learned how to enjoy Wagner, Mahler (with some exceptions) and most of the large 19th century orchestral literature.

Chamber music is my preferred form, also solo piano music. Sacred choral music, beginning with the earliest, chant, Medieival, Renaissance music still occupies much of my listening time. Bach was an early and continuing favorite.

But Satie was my gateway, that led to Poulenc, Ravel, Debussy and the 20th century French school.


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## SanAntone

*Trois Morceaux en forme de poire*
R. et G. Casadesus






An early success for Satie _Trois Morceaux_ despite the title is actually seven short pieces with the three morceaux surrounded by two introductory and two ending sections. It has been said that the title was in response to a comment Satie's friend Claude Debussy said, i.e. his work did not have any form.


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