This was something I'd had in mind for a long time..." says pianist Alexandre Tharaud, "to put together an album for the sheer pleasure of it, in collaboration with dear friends and paying tribute to the wonders of the piano duet repertoire." The aptly named 4 Hands offers 18 tracks, each just a few minutes in length, each featuring Tharaud sharing a piano keyboard with a different partner. The repertoire ranges wide - from Bach to Glass by way of such composers as Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Fauré, Satie, Debussy, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, and Piazzolla. 15 of Tharaud's fellow performers are celebrated pianists - among them the late Nicholas Angelich, Mariam Batsashvili, Bertrand Chamayou, David Fray, Víkingur Ólafsson, and Beatrice Rana. The other three, all stars in their musical fields, are shown in a new, pianistic light: cellist Gautier Capuçon, countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and singer-songwriter Juliette. "The piano duet is one of life's miracles," continues Tharaud. "First and foremost, it is the most intimate way of playing chamber music... It was a joy to record this album... If hearing these pieces prompts people to buy some sheet music and enjoy playing duets together - just as we did in the recording studio - then I will have achieved my aim.

Erik Satie and John Cage are UFOs in the world of music, because they envisioned music through a completely different prism," says pianist Bertrand Chamayou. "They are pioneers in the sense that, for many people, they changed the very idea of what music must be." With his album Letter(s) to Erik Satie Chamayou pays tribute to two idiosyncratic, innovative and influential composers, one born in Normandy in 1866, the other in Los Angeles in 1912. There is a strong connection between them: Cage considered Satie a source of inspiration. Satie takes pride of place on the album with such pieces as the three Gymnop�dies and the seven Gnossiennes, while Cage is represented by five pieces and a work attributed to him following it's rediscovery amongst the papers of his disciple James Tenney - whose musical homage to Satie also features in the programme. Chamayou recorded the album at the state-of-the-art Miraval Studios in Provence, which inspired him to take an experimental approach: "I thought we should do something a little different - and I thought of Erik Satie. This was an opportunity to get really intimate with the piano... Satie is really a special case, a strange musician unlike anyone else.

We know Satie as a loner, but it is less well known that Satie had also been in love. He had a brief and stormy affair with the painter Suzanne Valadon. The portrait she made of him is on the cover of this album, as pianist Guillaume Coppola has conceived it as an intimate portrait of the composer, "one masked by a veil of modesty or provocation and which lies between antique and oriental inspiration, mystical phases, humour and cabaret". The miniature Bonjour Biqui and the motif of the Vexations possess rare allusions to Valadon and become commas between these chapters, as does Desespoir agreable, whose title alone seems to sum up Satie's life and work. This tribute is released to mark the centenary of Satie's death; whilst the famous Gymnopedies and Gnossiennes feature on the programme, the album also presents rare and infrequently recorded discoveries that testify to the richness of the works that the whimsical Satie had created.

Bien qu'Erik Satie soit principalement reconnu pour son oeuvre de compositeur et pianiste, ses ecrits poetiques sont a l'image de sa musique : souvent courts, empreints d'un humour absurde et d'une grande sensibilite melancolique. La voix profonde et le timbre captivant de Francois Marthouret, se mele ici aux harmonies delicates du piano de Christiane Gugger. La complicite sensible entre l'acteur et la pianiste, souligne toute la musicalite et l'inattendu de ces ecrits iconoclastes signes par l'un des plus grands precurseurs de son epoque Augustin BONDOUX / Patrick FReMEAUX Although Erik Satie is primarily known for his work as a composer and pianist, his poetic writings reflect the same qualities as his music: often brief, tinged with absurd humor and deep melancholic sensitivity. The deep voice and captivating tone of Francois Marthouret blend here with the delicate harmonies of Christiane Gugger's piano. The sensitive rapport between the actor and the pianist highlights the musicality and unpredictability of these iconoclastic writings by one of the greatest pioneers of his time. Augustin BONDOUX / Patrick FReMEAUX GNOSSIENNE N�2 ET JE SUIS Ne a HONFLEUR - GNOSSIENNE N�4 - JE REGRETTE - GNOSSIENNE N�3 - LA JOURNeE D'UN MUSICIEN - VALSE-BALLET. SPORTS ET DIVERTISSEMENTS - CHORAL INAPPeTISSANT - LA BALANcOIRE - LA CHASSE - LA COMeDIE ITALIENNE - LE ReVEIL DE LA MARIeE - COLIN MAILLARD - LA PeCHE - LE YACHTING - LE BAIN DE MER - LE CARNAVAL - LE GOLF - LA PIEUVRE - LES COURSES - LES QUATRE COINS - LE PICNIC - LE WATER-CHUTE - LE TANGO - LE TRAiNEAU - LE FLIRT - LE FEU D'ARTIFICE - LE TENNIS. MUSIQUE SUR L'EAU - FANTAISIE-VALSE - ECHANGE D'IDeE - OGIVE N�1 - LES PeRIMeS - GNOSSIENNE N�5 - LE VERTIGE - SEUL a LA MAISON. LETTRE a DEBUSSY - 20 JUILLET 1903 - 14 AO�T 1903 - 17 AO�T 1903. AVANT-DERNIeRES PENSeES - IDYLLE a DEBUSSY - AUBADE a PAUL DUCAS - MeDITATION a ALBERT ROUSSEL. MICHELET ET LES ANIMAUX - PIeCE FROIDE N�2 - L'ARTISTE ET L'ENNUI - GNOSSIENNE N�1 - MESDAMES MESDEMOISELLES MESSIEURS - JE TE VEUX LETTRE a SUZANNE VALADON 11 MARS 1893 - SON BINOCLE.

In 1925 France's most famous musical rebel and pioneer died in the Saint-Joseph hospital in Paris from an excess of drinking. His name: Eric Satie, a French composer and pianist, born on May 17, 1866, in Honfleur, France. The most important image that posterity has retained of Satie is that of a humorist, a whimsical composer devoted to provocation, extravagance and the absurd. He is best known for his unique and often eccentric musical style, his unconventional approach to music, incorporating elements of humor and absurdity into his compositions. He often rejected the traditional norms of classical music, leading to a more avant-garde style, which laid the groundwork for modern music and influenced many composers, including John Cage. Satie's most famous works include "Gymnopedies" and "Gnossiennes, " characterized by their simplicity, innovative harmonies, and atmospheric quality. Satie passed away in 1925. - Hakon Austbo plays Satie's Gymnopedies and Gnossiennes, bringing his unique interpretation to the composer's timeless pieces. - Recorded in May-July 1999, Remonstrantse Gemeente, Deventer, The Netherlands.

Erik Satie's influence, once barely acknowledged, has now permeated nearly every corner of modern music. Best known for the sensual simplicity of his tender Gymnopedies, such seeming naivety masked a colorful, and frequently, complex life and artistic vision. The experimental composer John Cage famously called Satie "indispensable," citing him as a profound inspiration for his own groundbreaking work. Satie's eccentricities were part of his charm, and this whimsy often seeped into his work. In Embryons desseches (Dried Embryos), for instance, he included absurd instructions in the score, phrases like "on the tip of your tongue" or "open your head," as well as giving his works absurd titles like Effronterie and Prelude canin, gleefully written to deflate the precious seriousness of classical music traditions. In contrast, there are works like Pieces froides (1897) that anticipate the rhythmic minimalism of Philip Glass and his visionary 5 Nocturnes (1919), the final series of his cyclically organized piano pieces composed using a highly complex system rigorously guiding the interplay of melody (right hand) and harmonic accompaniment (left hand). Even today, there are many surprises to be discovered in Satie's oeuvre. This specially curated program is brilliantly realized by Christina Bjorkoe, one of Denmark's leading musicians. Much in demand as a recitalist, chamber musician, and soloist with symphony orchestras, ClassicsToday praised Bjorkoe for her dynamism and passion. Her extensive discography includes critically acclaimed recordings of works spanning the piano repertoire from Beethoven to Borup-Jorgensen.

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Satie: Works for Piano

PIANO WORKS

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"The Beethoven concert aria was recorded in 1965 in the wake of a series of successful concerts with the New York Philharmonic. The soprano was then at her peak, and while the electric charge on the recording is not quite as high as at the concerts, this is nonetheless one of the best versions of the aria on disc..." -- Joel Kasow, FANFARE

"Fans of Régine Crespin’s wonderfully distinctive voice need little encouragement to acquire this reissue. The account of Beethoven’s 'Ah! perfido' is a testament to her dramatic ability to command absolute attention from the listener. Essentially the same qualities are displayed in the mélodies... Satie’s ‘Daphénéo’ and Ravel’s ‘Le grillon’ recall the magical hush of Crespin’s recording of 'Shéhérazade'..." -- Christopher Dingle, BBC Music Magazine

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Music for the theater - Erik Satie composed for the stage and the film medium on various occasions. His Parade, a ballet in cooperation with Jean Cocteau and Pablo Picasso, is legendary and caused a veritable scandal when it was premiered in 1917 along with Stravinsky's Petrushka. On Vol. 6 of Satie's piano works Steffen Schleiermacher turns to Parade and other works for the theater, including the lengthy music for Uspud, billed as a "Christian ballet" but actually parodying Flaubert's Temptation of St. Anthony in an absurd and absolutely blasphemous manner. The music for Parade turned out differently than originally planned, since Cocteau, who feared that he would not get enough attention when working with Picasso and Satie, insisted on the additional use of the click clack of typewriters, pistol shots, and sirens, with the result that the music was drowned out. Since Steffan Schleiermacher no longer needs to respect Cocteau's wishes, he succeeds in uncovering a work with entertaining sides winning listeners' hearts.

Tirimo is a fine pianist with first-rate technical command, and understands Debussy's world well. (Gramophone). "Probably first choice for those wanting a modern digital recording offering the complete set... recording most realistic and natural." (Penguin Guide). "A most enjoyable recital, and one for which listeners will be grateful... What is Impressive is the pianist's integration of fragility and firmness, simplicity and complexity." (Gramophone). "I'm glad to be able to praise a fluid but unhurried Jeux d'eau that is well served, too, by the velvety-rich recorded sound... it 's attractive. So are the Sonatine, and the tenderly solemn Pavane pour une infante d�funte." (Gramophone). "Dickinson made Satie's music a center point of his repertoire, and his thoughtful approach to this highly rewarding music is all his own... variety of articulation and color is fully at the service of the composer." (Penguin Guide).

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Always inventive and innovation-seeking, Erik Satie's earliest works show traces of Chopin as an influence but he soon came to reject virtuosity and tradition, choosing instead to remain with the quintessentially French traits of simplicity, clarity, precision, elegance and economy. Satie's hautingly beautiful floating melodies and modal tonalities are unforgettably compelling, combining bygone classical ages with Parisian sophistication. This landmark recording uses both a new and corrected edition of Satie' smusic and Cosima Wagner's own 1881 Erard piano, his instrument maker of choice. Recognized as a leading interpreter of Liszt's music, Nicola Horvath has in recen tyears become one of the most sought-after pianists of his generation. Holder of a number of awards, including First Prize of the Scriabin and the Luigi Nono International Competitions, he frequently organizes events and concerts of unusual length, sometimes over twelve hours, such as Philip Glass' complete piano music or Erik Satie's Vexations, and composers from a number of countries have written for him.

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This is the second volume of a momentous new recording of Erik Satie’s complete solo piano music using Satie scholar Robert Orledge’s new and entirely revised Salabert Edition. Composed as incidental music to the pastoral drama set in Chaldea in 3000 BC by French novelist Josephine Péladan, Le Fils des étoiles is one of Satie’s longest scores and rarely heard in its entirety. Fête donnée par des chevaliers normands en l'honneur d'une jeune demoiselle (XIe siècle) invokes the spirit of medieval plainsong. This landmark edition is played on Cosima Wagner's own 1881 Erard piano, Satie’s instrument maker of choice. Recognized at once as a great interpreter of Liszt’s music, Nicolas Horvath became in recent years one of the most sought after pianists of his generation. Holder of a number of awards, like the First Prize of the Scriabin and the Luigi Nono International Competitions, he frequently organizes events and concerts of unusual length, sometimes over twelve hours, such as Philip Glass complete piano music or Erik Satie’s Vexations.