Customer Reviews

The Best of Erik Satie

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

... Well folks. This may be the perfect album to get started. This features some of the best-known works by the wierd and witty Erik Satie, including the Gymnopedies (both the original piano and the orchestrated versions), the Gnossiennes, just to name a few.

The performance done by pianist Klara Kormendi is relatively plain and simple, just as Satie might have wanted. Some of his music is actually not too difficult to play... A great CD at a budget price. Kudos to Naxos for a good performance at a good price.

Also, what I'm equally impressed is the fact that in this "appreciation" album, the listener will actually be listening to many "sets" of pieces. Some of those albums (Beethoven and Mozart for example) are mere collections of selected tracks, many just one movement of a large work, such as a symphony. In some you will only be listening to selected numbers of different large "sets" of pieces. In Chopin's for example one may listen only few of the 20+ nocturnes (No. 2 for example), 15+ waltzes, and 20+ mazurkas he wrote, so one would not feel complete listening to the whole "cycles" of short pieces. Satie, fortunatley, prefered using tiny sets of pieces, most of them only comprising of three movments each. Plus each piece is short. ALL of the three Gymnopedies. ALL of the six Gnossiennes. ALL of the three Sarabandes. ALL of the three nocturnes. One can already feel happy listening to couple "sets" within a single CD.

Once again, this may be the perfect album to get started with Erik Satie. And get ALL out of those pieces!!!

'Best ofs' rarely do justice to classical music composers; the compilations' limited space often results in selections which are cut from their context, short excerps of longer works, etc. This Naxos release has none of these problems. It wisely offers complete opuses (i.e. all three Gymnopedies, Sarabandes and Nocturnes, all six Gnossiennes), and its focus on pieces for solo piano (the only orchestrations included here were not done by Satie himself) gives the disc a lot of cohesion. It doesn't sound much like a typical 'Best of' - this isn't a drawback but a virtue! - and rather is a thoughtful selection of some of Satie's most interesting works. The playing is also excellent: I was personally accustomed to slower Gymnopedies, but these faster versions are worth hearing; the beautiful Gnosiennes are also nicely rendered. This recording emphasizes the 'openness' of Satie's music: the (interior) spaces it evokes can become a springboard for reflexion, relaxation, or both depending on the listener's mood. Those who are new to Satie should definitely purchase this disc.

A good compilation of Erik Satie's work, though missing a few notables (the only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5). During his life Satie didn't intend for his music to be highlighted, rather he prefered the music to be a "backround" to everyday life....as his pieces were played at concerts, Satie encouraged the the crowd to talk, carry on...behave as if nothing of paticular interest was occuring. He felt his music was not for special attention, and would rather it play as a soundtrack to a typical day. With apologies to Satie, this work is simply too beautiful to not stop and take notice.

I agree with other reviewers that this "best of" selection is a great intro to Satie, a composer I believe deserves wide recognition. But there are much better performances on other "best of" Satie collections. For me Klara doesn't cut it - awkward, unfelt, stiff, poorly recorded. I'm no prude, but I was disappointed enough to delete this download and try Roland Pontinen's Satie collection instead. Skip this one and audition other performers; find your own favorite. Listen to how each player handles Gymnopedies, for example. There must be a dozen different versions on amazon alone, each with its own recording ambiance, tempo, feel. I'll bet you'll find a better version too. Satie deserves it, and so do you.

I'd like to say that this is a good introductory compilation for those new to Satie, or those that just want his best-known songs on one CD. However, unfortunately, I do not recommend it, and in fact I am highly disturbed that it is the first CD that comes up on Amazon when you type in "Erik Satie." As noted in the Amazon description, "Her sensitive, expertly colored playing brings uncommon, refreshing urgency to the first three Nocturnes, the well-worn Gymnopédies, and all six Gnossiennes." Refreshing urgency? How about just urgency? "Gymnopedie #1", perhaps Satie's best-known piece, is played at light speed! Way too fast! Certainly not the way Satie intended it, and as an "interpretation" it falls short. The same is true for several of the other songs. Even though all the right songs are on it, the versions of those songs are poor representations of true Satie, as also noted in the Amazon review through the use of the word "uncommon." In my opinion, you should avoid this album unless you're a Satie junky and want to hear his songs played at a quicker pace for a "refreshing" change. If you want a good Satie overview, buy "Piano Works" with Ciccolini as the performer.

The reason I bought this product, is because I was familiar with the 3 Gymnopedies of Erick Satie and also another of his work: The Gnosiemme (I'm not sure about the spelling) No. 4. After listening to the CD I felt very happy with it because include both versions of the Gymnopedies, the Orchestral and the one for piano and of course the Gnosiemme No. 4 which I now like it very much. The pianist makes justice to Satie's work and if you like his work is a good buy.

I must agree that Klara Kormendi's interpretation of these popular melodies is quite unusual, but unlike other reviewers, I enjoyed it. Yes, it's much faster than what other pianists would play (especially Gnossienne No.5, which is at lightning speed) but that just adds a different color to music, that otherwise is painfully familiar to many. The orchestra versions of the Gymnopedies are beautiful too.

By the way, who uploaded a picture of a flying bird as a product photo? I own a copy of this CD. There ain't no birds anywhere on that CD, baby! It's a nice picture, but it has nothing to do with the product. ;)

My musical genius friend recommended this since I was lacking classical tunes on my i-Pod. Love this CD. It's great for dinner parties, chilling out with your man and wine, or just reflecting while washing the dishes. My newborn son seems to dig it, too. I don't know what it is other than it's just beautiful and soothing to the ears.

this is one of the best collection album from satie.
this cd includes a loot of nive piano composition like
the classic and still very fine song trois gymnopedies
wich is to be saties most famous song of all his works.
by this cd and then you will here how good this is.

I love piano music and had been looking for a good one for years. I bought this without knowing much about Erik Satie and I'm very happy. It's a great collection.