It Snows For A Day In Chicagoland
Last week I encountered something truly wonderful concerning one of my favorite classical composers, Erik Satie. The piano books I have don't have his original notes, so I haven't been able to see this until recently. Some of the phrases he uses for the instrumentalist are just great. One such example is:
Others include - "Arm yourself with perspicacity", "Open your head", "Here comes the lantern", "Light as an egg", "With astonishment", and "Work it out yourself".
There are also some pieces of his I discovered recently. Some of them are - "Veritable Flabby Preludes (for a Dog)", "Menus for Childish Purposes", and "Desiccated Embryos".
A few extra bits...
In his one-room apartment Satie had two pianos. One placed on top of the other, their pedals interconnected.
Satie once bought 12 grey velvet suits at the same time. He used one suit at a time until it was worn out, then he put on a new one.
When he died, there were 6 suits left in his room, along with his 100 umbrellas.
When Satie was criticised for writing music without form, he immediately composed " Trois Morceaux en forme de poire " (Three Pieces in the Form of a Pear. They are piano duets).
His 180 notes long composition Vexations , directed to be repeated 840 times, was recorded in 1963 in New York . It took a relay team of 10 pianists over eighteen hours to perform.