蜜芽传媒

Donald Macleod explores five aspects of Satie. Today, meet the innovative and influential composer Ravel dubbed 鈥渁 precursor of genius鈥� and Cage termed simply 鈥渋ndispensable鈥�.

On Satie鈥檚 death in July 1925, the Musical Times pronounced that he had written 鈥渓ittle of real importance in itself鈥�, yet grudgingly acknowledged that 鈥渉is influence on modern French music was considerable鈥�. The obit writer was probably taking his cue from Ravel, whose support for Satie, nine years his senior but still, up until that point, languishing in obscurity, had taken concrete form in January 1911, when he put on a concert in Satie鈥檚 honour at a fashionable new venue in the eighth arrondissement of Paris. On that occasion, Ravel paid homage to the older composer鈥檚 鈥渋nventor鈥檚 mind par excellence鈥� and praised the manner in which he had opened up paths 鈥渢o new fields of experiment鈥�. From this point on, Satie ceased to be a kind of musical satnav for other composers; now he was on the map himself.

Trois Gymnop茅dies (No 1, Lent et douloureux)
Pascal Rog茅, piano

Trois Sarabandes (No 2)
Francis Poulenc, piano

uspud 鈥� ballet chr茅tien (3rd act)
Reinbert de Leeuw, piano

Le pi猫ge de M茅duse
Tzenka Dianova, (prepared) piano

Rel芒che 鈥� ballet instantan茅iste
New London Orchestra
Ronald Corp, conductor

Vexations (tr猫s lent) 鈥� excerpt
Nicolas Horvath, piano

Produced by Chris Barstow