ERIK SATIE /// THE PROPHETIC ECCENTRIC
(b. 1866 - d. 1925) Satie was a prolific French composer who anticipated trends of the future decades before their existence. Minimalism, ambience, noise, "organized total chromaticism": all were concepts unheard of in the waning years of the Romantic nineteenth century. Organ lessons at the age of eight fostered an early appreciation and lifetime fondness for Gregorian chant. His mother died when Satie was hardly six years old and in 1879 his father remarried to a piano instructor, Eugénie Barnetche. Satie disliked Barnetche, who was an influential figure in his enrollment at the Paris Conservatoire later that year, and he eventually came to disdain academia as well. Considered the 'laziest student in the Conservatoire', he spent seven years studying in an institution he likened to a penitentiary.
In his early twenties, Satie escaped the confines of his Catholic, imposing upbringing and wholeheartedly embraced the bohemian lifestyle. Growing out his beard and sporting a signature top hat, Satie was known for his pointed wit that challenged the Church and current musical status-quo. He befriended Claude Debussy, also a French composer, in 1891 and their friendship, although at times tumultuous, was one that lasted for a great deal of Satie's life. Some of his eccentric quirks included, carrying around a hammer to defend himself from possible (albeit absurdly paranoid) attacks, buying seven identical suits, and essentially living in filth. Despite this underlying tone of madness, Satie's appearance and music did not reflect that. Polished, clean, simple, unobtrusive: the prevalence and popularity of Satie's legacy is practically counter to his famous concept of musique d'ameublement, or furniture music . . .