Erik Satie - by Caroline Potter (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Satie's music and ideas are inextricably linked with the City of Light. This book situates Satie's work within the context and sonic environment of contemporary Paris.

Sunday Times Classical Music Book of the Year

Erik Satie's (1866-1925) music appeals to wide audiences and has influenced both experimental artists and pop musicians. Little about Satie was conventional, and he resists classification under easy headings such as "classical music". Instead of pursuing the path of a professional composer, Satie initially earned a living as a café pianist and moved in bohemian circles which prized satire, popular culture and experiment. Small wonder that his music is fundamentally new in conception. It is music which is not always designed to be listened to attentively: music which can be machine-like but is to be played by humans. For Satie, music was part of a wider concept of artistic creation, as evidenced by his collaborations with leading avant-garde artists and in works which cross traditional genre boundaries such as his texted piano pieces. His music was created in some of the most exciting and creatively stimulating environments of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century: Montmartre and Montparnasse. Paris was the artistic centre of Europe, and Satie was a notorious figure whose music and ideas are inextricably linked with the City of Light. This book situates Satie's work within the context and sonic environment of contemporary Paris. It shows that the influence of street music, musicians and poets interested in new technology, contemporary innovations and radical politics are all crucial to an understanding of Satie. Music from the ever-popular Gymnopédies to newly discovered works are discussed, and an online supplement features rare pieces recorded especially for the book.

Review Quotes

'This brilliant and accessible new study of Satie gets right inside his contemporary Parisian world, relating its complex and fast-changing artistic climate to scientific and social issues, and most importantly to mechanical and street music. Dr Potter's painstaking and wide research brings many new discoveries too, and leaves us with a clearer vision of what the enigmatic Satie was really about.--Emeritus Professor Robert Orledge, University of Liverpool

[A] welcome new study.-- "LITERARY REVIEW"

A delightful and informative take on Erik Satie's life and works...Potter's biography presents readers with a cultural history: they will revel in learning more not only about Satie and his music, but also about fin-de-siècle Paris's sonic environment, artistic movements and social trends, which she argues shaped Satie's music... A book that will certainly delight a broad range of readers, from music scholars and French historians, to those in the general public interested in discovering more about one of France's most enigmatic composers.-- "REVUE DE MUSICOLOGIE"

Anyone seriously interested in Satie needs this well-produced, reasonably priced, lucidly expressed and impressively researched book.-- "MUSICAL OPINION"

Essential reading.-- "CLASSICAL MUSIC"

No academic library should be without it and both Satie's admirers and detractors will find many thoughtful insights.-- "FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE"

Potter's book is especially timely, participating in the recent trend of rethinking early twentieth-century composers . . . within their historical and social contexts. . . . [Her] writing is accessible and engaging. . . . [P]rovides a fresh and nuanced take on a popular but complicated composer. It would be a welcome addition to any library.-- "NOTES: JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC LIBRARY ASSOCIATION"

Potter's book is well written and she supports her knowledge of Satie with her fluency in the French language, as a result of which she is able to discuss the nuances and double entendres of Satie's texted piano works. . . . The primary sources Potter found, and includes in her study, are reason enough to read this book. . . . [A]n important contribution indeed.-- "ECHO"

Potter's scholarly and engaging book brings out the ways in which Satie's music...absorbed the 'sonic environment' of the city.-- "SUNDAY TIMES"

This is a fascinating tour of Satie's richly bizarre Parisian environment, offering new and valuable insights for both listeners and performers.-- "[FOUR STARS] BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE"