French composer, pianist.

He early realized that the romantic Wagnerian style was incompatible with the expression of French sensibility, and he developed a restrained, abstract, and deceptively simple style. In such piano pieces as Sarabandes (1887) and Gymnopedies (1888) he anticipated some of the harmonic innovations of the impressionists Debussy and Ravel. But in later works such as Socrate (1918; a setting of Plato's Dialogues for four sopranos and chamber orchestra) he foreshadowed the neoclassicism of Stravinsky and others writing in the early 20th cent. An eccentric, Satie often concealed his serious artistic intent with droll humor, adding nonsense programs or facetious titles such as Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear (1903). In 1918 there gathered around him a group of young composers?Honegger, Georges Auric, Louis Durey, and Germaine Tailleferre?who were united in the reaction against impressionism. They were joined in 1919 by Milhaud and Poulenc, and were called les six. A ballet, Les Mari?s de la tour Eiffel (1921), which had music by all except Durey, was the one work in which the group collaborated. Jean Cocteau, their literary prophet, wrote the scenario.

"Siebold's piano" is said to have been brought by Philip Franz von Siebold to Yamaguchi in 1828. This the oldest piano in Japan is now owned by Kumaya Art Museum in Hagi city, Yamaguchi. The piano was made when Beethoven was still alive. In this period many keyboards instruments were made and played. For example cembalos, clavichords and fortepianos ..etc. These suggest many keyboards instruments are during transition. This English piano is is smaller than current grand pianos. and called square piano. It's a portable one and its feet can be folded. Stretchin string and other factor develops buckle as the months go along. "Siebold's Piano" is too old to stretch strings as current pianos. Then this piano stretch low tension. And it causes noises of hammers. We can't hear from this piano good sound like steinwey of its condition. But we take this piano as cip's motif to feel about "time", "history"..etc from acoustic.

detail

Made in England. 1812

68 keys

Owned by Kumaya Art Museum (japanese) in Hagi city, Yamaguchi

Restringed by Japan Piano Technicians Association in 1955.

(c) Erik Satie

"Vexations" was composed by Erik Satie in 1895. It's only a page long with theme and two variations. There is a brief note says to play theme -> variation1 -> theme -> variation2. This mysterious piece also has another notation. The words means only know Satie himself. "In order to play this motif 840 times consecutively to oneself, it will be useful to prepare oneself beforehand, and in utter silence, by grave immobilities."