Search - Thibaudet, Satie :: The Magic of Satie

Beautiful simplicity of Satie's piano music

Amy | 09/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The French composer Erik Satie had a reputation in his lifetime of being an eccentric. Stravinsky later described him as the oddest person he had ever known. His music was very influential on other french composers Debussy and Ravel. For most of Satie's life he earned his living as a cafe pianist playing for very little money. Satie lived a life of extreme simplicity. He lived in a very small room with only a chair and table and it is said he stayed warm in the winter by filling bottles with hot water and putting them under his blankets when he slept. Satie wrote for the theatre, mostly for dancers. His piano pieces have a simplictity and harmonic originality. The pieces often come with titles or instructions that no other composer has ever done. The Gnossiennes which means mysterious one, suggests the world of Minoan Cnossos and the labyrinth, while the score, written without bar lines, includes bizarre instructions to the player. Such as to play from the tip of the thought, on the tip of the tongue, without pride, and with healthy superiority. These eccentric directions are visible only to the pianist. Next are the three Gymnopedies. Satie got the title from the festival dance of naked boys in ancient Sparta, were written in 1888. The first and third of the group were later orchestrated by Debussy. In their solemn simplicity they mark the path that French music was to take for future composers. This is an excellent compilation of Satie's best known piano works by one of the best French pianists Thibaudet. These wonderful pieces are emotionally complex, managing to be humorous and sad at the same time. My favorites on this album are the Gnosiennes 1-6. Especially the first one, which almost moves me to tears every time I hear it.





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