Track Listing

1. No 1, Lent et douloureux
2. No 2, Lent et triste
3. No 3, Lent et grave
4. No 01, Lent
5. No 02, Avec Etonnement
6. No 03, Lent
7. No 04, Lent
8. No 05, Modere
9. No 06, Avec Conviction et avec une Tristesse Rigoureuse
10. No. 1, "Tyrolienne turque" (Turkish Yodeling)
11. No. 2, "Danse maigre; a la maniere de ces messieurs" (Meager Dance; in the manner of these gentleme
12. No. 3, "Espanana"
13. No. 1, "d'Holothurie"
14. No. 2, "d'Edriophthalma"
15. No. 3, "de Podophthalma"
16. No. 1, "Idylle"
17. No. 2, "Aubade"
18. No. 3, "Meditation"
19. No. 1, "Severe reprimande"
20. No. 2, "Seul a la maison"
21. No. 3, "On joue"
22. No. 1, "Doux et calme"
23. No. 2, "Un peu mouvemente"
24. No. 3, "Un peu mouvemente"
25. No. 4, (w/out title)
26. No. 5, (w/out title)
27. Manière De Commencement
28. Prolongation Du Même
29. Lentement
30. En Leve
31. Brutal
32. En Plus
33. Redite
34. No. 1, "Grande ritournelle" (Grand Ritornello)
35. No. 2, "Marche franco-lunaire" (Franco-Lunar March)
36. No. 3, "Valse du mysterieux vaiser dans l'eil" (Waltz of the Mysterious Kiss in the Eye)
37. No. 4, "Cancan Grand-Mondain" (High-Society Cancan)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105502 in Music
• Released on: 2000-03-14
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Aldo Ciccolini's late-1960s survey devoted to Erik Satie's piano music helped spawn new interest in the idiosyncratic French composer. The pianist rerecorded the cycle digitally, and it is from these remakes that the present reissue stems. While the performances are refreshingly pert, stylish, and perceptive, the rather glassy, treble-heavy engineering can't hold a candle to EMI's warmer analog sound for the earlier recordings. Be that as it may, this disc covers a spectrum of Satie's creative moods (to say nothing of his bizarre titles), from the pensive Gymnopédies, Gnossiennes, and Nocturnes to the upbeat irony inherent in the character pieces. Gabriel Tacchino joins Ciccolini for a balletic romp through La belle excentrique. Happily, this duo will have none of the fussy rubato with which a handful of world-class pianists distort Trois Morceaux en forme de poire. If warm, rounded piano sound is not an issue, then this disc will do just fine as your basic Satie starter kit. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews

Great Performance, not so great quality recording
I think that the interpretation of Satie's work here is really good, but my complain is that the recording has a lot of noise in it, is not just the noise of a life performance (which I don't mind), but there is a clear white noise in the background that spoils the overall effect. Still, as I said the interpretation is just great, but the noise issue forces me to give a 3 start rating.

Great Performance, disappointing listening experience
The performance of all of the pieces on this disk are exceptional, and the recording of the piano itself is well done. Unfortunately, both are almost irreparably marred by a loud recording hiss throughout the performances. The fact that this hiss fades to zero between sets only serves to highlight the hiss and make it distracting again. I am stunned that this disk advertises itself as a DDD recording, the engineers and producers should be ashamed. If you know how to process hiss out of a recording, go for it. Otherwise, be warned, you may be disappointed.

Splendid Introduction to Satie's Piano Music
I must confess my ignorance with respect to Satie and his music, so this fine CD was a revelation. Satie clearly falls in the same group of "Impressionist" composers such as Debussy, but still remains an enigmatic figure, in part because of the satirical content of his music, as well as his personality. In Aldo Ciccolini, Satie had one of his foremost champions. This CD is replete with graceful, lyrical playing of Satie's works. I am truly surprised that Satie was neglected until the 1960's, when Ciccolini began championing his music. The sound quality isn't nearly as warm as earlier EMI analogue recordings, but this isn't a major disappointment in what is otherwise a splendid introduction to Satie's music.