Erik Satie was born as Éric Alfred Leslie Satie on May 17, 1866, in Honfleur, a commune in Northwestern France. He was the son of Alfred Satie, a maritime agent, and his wife Jane Leslie Anton, who was of Scottish descent. Satie’s early life was marked by a significant tragedy: his mother died when he was just six years old. His father remarried, but his stepmother also died when he was just 14, and his father then moved to Paris. These experiences profoundly shaped Satie’s life and work.
In Paris, Satie studied at the Paris Conservatoire, a distinguished music and dance school. His time there, however, was less than successful. Satie was described as a gifted but lazy student, with his instructors criticizing his piano playing as “insignificant and laborious” and his music theory as “worthless”. Despite these early difficulties, Satie would later demonstrate a highly innovative approach to composition.
Career
After leaving the Conservatoire, Satie found work as a café pianist. His time in Montmartre, a vibrant and bohemian district in Paris, played a crucial role in his development as an artist. Here, he was exposed to a wide array of artistic ideas and influences, including the avant-garde art, cabaret culture, and a diverse blend of musical styles from different regions and eras.
Satie’s first compositions, the “Gymnopédies” (1888), are now among his most famous. They are characterized by their simple, evocative melodies and unusual harmonic progressions. Satie’s works were considered radical for their time due to his rejection of the Germanic formalism prevalent in the late 19th-century French music scene. He sought to break with convention and create a new, uniquely French approach to composition.
From 1898, Satie lived alone in Arcueil, a Parisian suburb, leading an incredibly reclusive and eccentric lifestyle. He rarely invited anyone to his small room, which he referred to as his “prehistoric cave”. Around this time, he adopted a very peculiar lifestyle, which involved an exact routine of meals (only consuming food that was white) and clothing (always the same style of velvet suits).
In 1905, Satie enrolled at the Schola Cantorum de Paris to study counterpoint with Albert Roussel, demonstrating his ongoing commitment to his musical education. Satie emerged from the Schola Cantorum with a newfound respect for classical forms and techniques, which would influence his subsequent works.
The period from 1912 to 1925 (often referred to as Satie’s “humoristic” period) saw the creation of some of his most iconic works, including “Embryons desséchés” (1913), “Sports et divertissements” (1914), “Choses vues à droite et à gauche (sans lunettes)” (1914), and the ballet “Relâche” (1924). These compositions were infused with Satie’s wry humor and unique perspective.
Influence and legacy
Satie’s music has had a profound impact on 20th-century music, despite the composer remaining relatively unknown during his lifetime. His innovative, minimalist approach to composition was a departure from the dominant Wagnerian style, and his works anticipated developments in musical modernism, ambient music, and repetitive music.
He had a particular influence on the group of composers known as Les Six, who admired his irreverence towards established musical norms. His ideas also resonated with figures in the Dadaist and Surrealist movements, and he collaborated with several of them, including Jean Cocteau and Man Ray.
Satie died on July 1, 1925, in Paris. Though his funeral was attended by only a handful of friends, his influence has grown significantly in the decades following his death. Today, Satie is remembered not just for his music, but also for his unique personality, his witty musical annotations, and his innovative ideas about music and art. His compositions continue to be performed and recorded widely, testifying to the enduring power of his unique musical vision.
Erik Satie (1866 – 1925)
Erik Satie was born as Éric Alfred Leslie Satie on May 17, 1866, in Honfleur, a commune in Northwestern France. He was the son of Alfred Satie, a maritime agent, and his wife Jane Leslie Anton, who was of Scottish descent. Satie’s early life was marked by a significant tragedy: his mother died when he was just six years old. His father remarried, but his stepmother also died when he was just 14, and his father then moved to Paris. These experiences profoundly shaped Satie’s life and work.
In Paris, Satie studied at the Paris Conservatoire, a distinguished music and dance school. His time there, however, was less than successful. Satie was described as a gifted but lazy student, with his instructors criticizing his piano playing as “insignificant and laborious” and his music theory as “worthless”. Despite these early difficulties, Satie would later demonstrate a highly innovative approach to composition.
Career
After leaving the Conservatoire, Satie found work as a café pianist. His time in Montmartre, a vibrant and bohemian district in Paris, played a crucial role in his development as an artist. Here, he was exposed to a wide array of artistic ideas and influences, including the avant-garde art, cabaret culture, and a diverse blend of musical styles from different regions and eras.
Satie’s first compositions, the “Gymnopédies” (1888), are now among his most famous. They are characterized by their simple, evocative melodies and unusual harmonic progressions. Satie’s works were considered radical for their time due to his rejection of the Germanic formalism prevalent in the late 19th-century French music scene. He sought to break with convention and create a new, uniquely French approach to composition.
From 1898, Satie lived alone in Arcueil, a Parisian suburb, leading an incredibly reclusive and eccentric lifestyle. He rarely invited anyone to his small room, which he referred to as his “prehistoric cave”. Around this time, he adopted a very peculiar lifestyle, which involved an exact routine of meals (only consuming food that was white) and clothing (always the same style of velvet suits).
In 1905, Satie enrolled at the Schola Cantorum de Paris to study counterpoint with Albert Roussel, demonstrating his ongoing commitment to his musical education. Satie emerged from the Schola Cantorum with a newfound respect for classical forms and techniques, which would influence his subsequent works.
The period from 1912 to 1925 (often referred to as Satie’s “humoristic” period) saw the creation of some of his most iconic works, including “Embryons desséchés” (1913), “Sports et divertissements” (1914), “Choses vues à droite et à gauche (sans lunettes)” (1914), and the ballet “Relâche” (1924). These compositions were infused with Satie’s wry humor and unique perspective.
Influence and legacy
Satie’s music has had a profound impact on 20th-century music, despite the composer remaining relatively unknown during his lifetime. His innovative, minimalist approach to composition was a departure from the dominant Wagnerian style, and his works anticipated developments in musical modernism, ambient music, and repetitive music.
He had a particular influence on the group of composers known as Les Six, who admired his irreverence towards established musical norms. His ideas also resonated with figures in the Dadaist and Surrealist movements, and he collaborated with several of them, including Jean Cocteau and Man Ray.
Satie died on July 1, 1925, in Paris. Though his funeral was attended by only a handful of friends, his influence has grown significantly in the decades following his death. Today, Satie is remembered not just for his music, but also for his unique personality, his witty musical annotations, and his innovative ideas about music and art. His compositions continue to be performed and recorded widely, testifying to the enduring power of his unique musical vision.
Discography
Celestial Blue
Celia García-García