Guillaume Coppola

2025: new album for Alpha Classics / centenary of the death of Erik Satie (1866–1925).

We know Satie as a solitary figure, but like the musician who was never where you expected him to be, this recital is conceived through the prism of his brief and turbulent affair with Suzanne Valadon. Beyond the pieces that speak of love without being linked to the painter – notably music hall – or contemporary to this troubled relationship, a portrait of Satie emerges, masked by a veil of modesty or provocation, between ancient and oriental inspiration, mysticism, humour and cabaret. Rare allusions to Valadon, the miniature Bonjour Biqui and the motif of Vexations become commas between these chapters, as does Désespoir agréable, whose title alone seems to sum up Satie's life and work.

Satie's poetic or humorous annotations for the performer, or burlesque narrations accompanying his music, can be projected simultaneously onto a screen.

Vexations (April 1893) - Theme from the Bass
Waltz-Ballet (1885)                                    
3rd Gymnopédie (1888)
Poudre d'or (1902)

‘Bonjour Biqui, bonjour’! (2 April 1893)
Prélude de la Porte héroïque du ciel (1894)

Vexations - 1st harmonisation of the motif
4th Gnossienne (1891)
7th Gnossienne, excerpt from The Son of the Stars (1891), then Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear (1903)
1st Gnossienne (1890)

Vexations - Bass Theme
The Three Distinguished Waltzes of the Precious Disgusted Man (1914)            
1. His waist    2. His glasses    3. His legs

Clementi: Sonatina Op. 36 No. 1 (1797)                                    
1. Spiritoso    2. Andante    3. Vivace

Bureaucratic Sonatina (1917)                                
1. Allegro     2. Andante     3. Vivace    

Vexations - 2nd harmonisation of the motif 
6th Nocturne (1919)

Pleasant Despair (1908)
Jack in the Box (1899) - 1. Prelude

The Diva of the Empire (1904 - piano version 1919)
‘American Intermezzo based on the famous song by Bonnaud, Blès and Satie’, arranged for piano by Hans Ourdine

Rag-Time Parade (1916 - piano version 1919)
excerpt from Parade, realistic ballet (Cocteau, Satie, Picasso, Massine), arranged for piano by Hans Ourdine

Je te veux, sung waltz (1897)                            
Je te veux, solo piano version by the composer (1904)

As alternatives to an “All Satie” recital, see the programs “Under the Stars,” “In Love,” or “A Hymn to Dance.”