Not normally one for minimalism but Satie is pretty undeniable.

Interesting guy. Fun music to play: Interesting sonorities, but formally very simple and often gets old quickly (as opposed to a Bach fugue, which is fascinating to work on and play over-and-over again).

Only the Gymnopedies and Gnossiennes are 'minimalist'. Much of his other work is quite jaunty, dynamic, and brash. Parade is a fun orchestral piece.

Not a very prolific fellow, compared to his French contemporaries. Definitely a man driven to distractions, perhaps an early example of the artist existing in the modern age.

not crap

Not crap.

Because he worked from home he would get dressed, go for a walk, come back, and go straight to his study, as though he were going to the office. I like this idea and keep meaning to adopt it

my favorite pandemic discovery @quentinsmirhes

rsmurphy wrote: Mon Aug 01, 2022 5:33 pm

my favorite pandemic discovery @quentinsmirhes

For you, Randall. I know what a fan you are. And the above totally reminded me of the Rev.

rsmurphy wrote: Mon Aug 01, 2022 5:33 pm my favorite pandemic discovery @quentinsmirhes

NOT CRAP.

It's nice to see that Satie's popular works have inspired contemporary creative minds to create interesting multimedia works based upon his oeuvre. At the same time, I can't help thinking that these efforts only trivialize the music, making it a facile curio for strangeness and not the unique aural experience that might have been intended.

There's something counterintuitive about playing these pieces, sitting at a piano, sight reading, with strange performance annotations, with ambiguity as regards key, tempo, and not much in the way of dynamics markings or ornaments. As simple as these pieces are, they're also a little uncomfortable to run through at first, but not difficult. Almost like stride-piano for the sleepwalker.

I guess what I'm getting at is that there's more to be gained or experienced, it seems, by performing these pieces, rather than just listening.