Born: 17 May 1866, Honfleur, France
Died: 1 July 1925, Paris, France

Satie, Erik

One of the leaders of the Anti-Romantic impressionists, who opposed Wagner's influence on French music, and his sympathy for polytonality and atonality caused young composers to gather around him.

As a young man, he became famous for his three piano pieces "Trois Gymnopédies", in which he developed themes in an innovative fashion, untypical of Romantic music. Thus the cafe pianist became one of France's most influential musicians. Clearly under the impression of oriental music, he wrote three exotic movements called "Trois Gnossiennes". He contacted Debussy and became a known figure in Parisian night-life, but only when he returned to study music in an orderly fashion, he gain appreciation from Ravel, who saw him as a leader of French music and assisted in the publication of his music. His style was independent and very bold, and he became a sort of a spiritual guide to the "Les Six" group of composers, lead by Milhaud and Honegger, a party that challenged early 20th century French music and believed in using jazz in art music.

The names of some of his works are unordinary, among which "In a Horse's Clothes" ("En habit de cheval"), and "Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear" ("Trois morceaux en forme de poire"). His serious and very mature piece, the "Socrates" cantata, was accepted by the audience with surprise and admiration. Satie had grown up at last.

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