Customer Reviews

Satie: L'Oeuvre Pour Piano

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The work is one of the few that that merits 10/10, for
various aspects. First, the highly original pieces, one
after another.

Secondly, the simply outstanding professional job, and interpretation
made of the original compositions, that, clearly, showed the composer
being incredibly ahead of his time, in matters of laying out his
music ideas and human expression through it.

Third, the product itself, comprehensive, exhaustive of Satie's opuses,
over the 5 CD's released in the 2 jewel cases, is simply unbeatable in
any other release, as far as I know, except maybe the DDD re-release
this decade. This remaster, of performances on the piano, from the 1970's,
is perfectly fine in terms of audio.

In fact, I've heard works from symphonies dating from the 1940's,
such as from Mussorgsky, or even, Russian composers works, that
are simply incredible when re-released on CD, as are those from Bartok,
or Stravinsky. This may come into play when deciding whether to go for
this boxset and not the DDD re-release from Aldo Ciccolini as well.

I bought this 5 CD collection of Satie piano music for my wife for Christmas since she mentioned liking a CD of Satie's piano pieces played by Pascal Rogé that I had on a few weeks earlier. We've listened to the whole collection and both enjoy it very much. It is unfortunate as another reviewer pointed out that the liner notes are only in French, but I imagine we'll be able to find a list of his works in English somewhere on the internet. Many of the pieces are short and there are so many of them that it would be hard to keep them apart even if we did have notes in English. We're just happy to have all this beautiful music to listen to. I'm not musically sophisticated enough to judge Ciccolini's interpretations of Satie's music, but they seem fine to me and the CDs sound good despite having been recorded between 1967 and 1971.

This collection makes for good listening. There is a great deal of variety and character (Oh, is there character!) to be found in the various pieces. While most people have likely heard one or more of Satie's Gymnopedies at the very least in the background music of a TV ad, this collection pulls together the rarely-heard piano pieces as well. One that I had been seeking, Vexations, is a short piece to be repeated 840 times.

The titles of the pieces bear witness to Satie's sense of humor, rebellion against conventions of the day, and his pleasure in the surreal. Translations help to enjoy the unusual titles (who could not love "Piece in the Form of a Pear"?), some of which are reminiscent of Magritte's monikers.

Aldo Ciccolini's performances are clear, with definite respect for the composer's works. There was a noticeable distinction between the tempi of the works that come "in threes", such as the Gymnopedies.

I found that this collection fit nicely on my iPod, allowing me to take it on the road and enjoy it wherever the mood struck me. In some cases, the juxtaposition of Satie's music with my whereabouts provided yet another dimension of surreal-ity that had to be savored. The fact that most of these piano pieces are brief lends them to shuffling with other styles.

While this collection is not for the casual listener to classical music, it does allow you to come into closer contact with one of the more unconventional minds of classical music. If you are serious about late 19th- or early 20th-century music, especially French music, or the influence of popular music on serious music, then this is not only for you, but a bargain as well.

This is the definitive Satie collection for piano. Well-recorded and well played. I am a fan of French Impressionism in all of its incarnations and appreciated getting a full set of Satie under one cover. However, not all of these interpretations are my favorites. The best Gnossienne, IMHO, is that of Reinbert de Leeuw. He takes it slow and draws everything out of that piece. Ciccolini's interpretation is rushed and not as melodic. However, the Ciccolini tempo works well on other pieces, such as the other Satie favorite, Gymnopédies.

All in all, this collection is well worth having for any Satie fan.

I _loved_ the Gymnopedies and the Gnossiennes but I wasn't that fond of the rest. Still, it's a lot of music for the money and it's nice to have it all interpreted by a single artist.