Search - Erik Satie, Reinbert de Leeuw :: Satie: The Early Piano Works

A useful and effective concentration on the "mystic" works

E. Weed | Houston, TX | 01/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Satie wrote in a variety of styles. Much of his later work (including most of the work with the humorous titles) amounts to a burlesque of salon music of the day, and tends to be charming, often affecting, but on the light side. (There are exceptions, of course, such as the Nocturnes.)



The early pieces grouped on these 2 CDs (which include the famous Gymnopedies) are in a different league. They come from a period in which Satie seemed to be working through spiritual issues, and some were written specifically for the mystical Rosicrucian Order. Satie was pushing the envelope in terms of structure and harmony (although the harmony was not dissonant, but, instead, quite similar to Debussy's experiments of roughly the same time). The music can be repititious (not unlike chant) but with subtle variations (as if a distant--and early--cousin of minimalism). Most of it tends to be meditative and quiet, relatively uncomplicated, and, in that sense, anti-virtuosic. (I should add that the Gymnopedies were among the less experimental pieces of that time, although compared to, say, Saint-Saens, they were revolutionary in their simplicity.)



I became familiar with Satie via Aldo Ciccolini's ground-breaking series of 30 years ago or so. There, as in most Satie compilations, the early work was mixed in with the later work, which had the effect (for me, at least), of causing me to not quite "get" the early work. (Ciccolini's later set devoted an entire CD to the early work, under the "Mystic Works" rubric, as I best recall, but the piano sound was very disappointing, and Ciccolini was not particularly "mystical" in his approach to the work.)



Reinbert de Leeuw's approach is either revelatory or terribly dull, depending upon who's listening. I love it. I think he's the first pianist to effectively reveal what unique and potent music this is, in part by simply slowing it down. He has a beautiful sounding piano to work with (superbly recorded), and he revels in that beauty, to our benefit. Yet I don't think the slow speed is such an issue that the listener loses track of the architecture of the pieces. It just gives you time to listen.



A less patient listener who likes lots of musical activity and excitement will not like these CDs. A listener attracted to music on the meditative side, such as chant, or the Debussy Preludes, will probably really enjoy this. For me, at the end of a long day, this is like a warm bath for the brain. And, it's easy on the pocketbook. (This two-fer contains all, or most of, the music that used to occupy 3 CDs.)"

Slow and unhurried: the ultimate love-making

Kick-Azz-Angel | Amsterdam, The Netherlands | 01/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Reinbert de Leeuw has taken these works of Satie into a new dimension. I will compare it with the help of the lyrics of the song "Slow Hand" (Pointer Sisters) .

"I need a lover with a slow hand, I need a lover with an easy touch".

That's what Reinbert de Leeuw does. Slow and unhurried, Satie can be experienced to its full. A truly wonderful experience. It comes very close to love-making ."