volume four, number 1

Erik Satie

 

Erik Satie was born in Normandy in 1866. At age 17 he entered the Paris Conservatory, though he left after only studying a year. Later, at age 40 and already a respected composer, he would enroll Schola Cantorum, where he studied with Albert Roussel and Vincent D’Indy. Satie aligned himself with the Symbolist art movement, becoming the composer for the Salon de la Rose+Croix. Satie composed a fanfaire of trumpets for the Salon’s opening exhibition in the Spring of 1892. His best known works are Trois Gymnopedies and the Gnossiennes series (reprinted in part here). In addition to his own compositions, Satie inspired contemporaries such as Claude Debussy and modern ‘minimalists’ such as Philip Glass and Michael Nyman. Satie died in Paris in 1925.

 

PDF version of this article includes Gnossienne No. 1-3 sheet music. Click above to download.