Bosnia-Herzegovina
Serbian Republic 9.12.2016
The French composer and pianist Erik Satie was born on May 17, 1866, in Honfleur. He died on July 1, 1925, in Paris. July 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of his death.
Satie received his first music lessons at the age of eight from the organist and choirmaster of the church in Honfleur. His father’s second wife, a concert pianist, composer, and music teacher, recognized his talent and enrolled him in 1879 at the Paris Conservatoire, but Satie dropped out after two and a half years. He began composing in 1884. His first pieces were published by his father’s publishing house. In 1887, he moved to the Parisian artists’ district of Montmartre, where he found a job as a pianist at the cabaret Le Chat Noir. In 1905, he resumed his music studies with Vincent d’Indy and Albert Roussel at the Schola Cantorum. Satie first gained notoriety thanks to his fellow musicians Claude Debussy and
Satie received his first music lessons at the age of eight from the organist and choirmaster of the church in Honfleur. His father’s second wife, a concert pianist, composer, and music teacher, recognized his talent and enrolled him in 1879 at the Paris Conservatoire, but Satie dropped out after two and a half years. He began composing in 1884. His first pieces were published by his father’s publishing house. In 1887, he moved to the Parisian artists’ district of Montmartre, where he found a job as a pianist at the cabaret Le Chat Noir. In 1905, he resumed his music studies with Vincent d’Indy and Albert Roussel at the Schola Cantorum. Satie first gained notoriety thanks to his fellow musicians Claude Debussy and
Maurice Ravel, who performed his pieces in 1911. He gained the attention of the Parisian music world in 1917 with the premiere of his ballet “Parade,” created in collaboration with Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, and the Diaghilev troupe. He later received further recognition from the young composers of the Groupe des Six, which included Arthur Honegger and Darius Milhaud.
With his work, Satie influenced new music, jazz, and popular music alike. Key characteristics of his music are the simplicity, clarity, brevity, and straightforwardness, which make Satie a pioneer of minimal music. True to his conviction that the composer has no right to unnecessarily take up his listeners’ time, Satie developed his idea of background music even before the introduction of radio.
Today, Satie’s “Gymnopédies” for solo piano are particularly well known; they are very popular with piano students because of their simplicity.
With his work, Satie influenced new music, jazz, and popular music alike. Key characteristics of his music are the simplicity, clarity, brevity, and straightforwardness, which make Satie a pioneer of minimal music. True to his conviction that the composer has no right to unnecessarily take up his listeners’ time, Satie developed his idea of background music even before the introduction of radio.
Today, Satie’s “Gymnopédies” for solo piano are particularly well known; they are very popular with piano students because of their simplicity.
France 11.4.1992
