Erik Satie Gymnopédie 1 - Alessio Nanni

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Erik Satie Gymnopedie No 1 Performed by Alessio Nanni, piano.
Satie Gymnopedie 1 was recorded at ©WHITE NOISE FACTORY on November 24th 2020.
Published by White Noise Factory Publishing, BMI Music.
https://www.whitenoisefactory.com/
All Rights Reserved.

Piano: Steinway & Sons Mod. B211 'Klingsor'.

Piano technician: Giulio Passadori
https://www.passadori.it/

Satie Gymnopedie 1
Erik Satie composer of Gymnopédie was introduced as a "gymnopedist" in 1887, shortly before writing his most famous compositions, the Gymnopédies. Later, he also referred to himself as a "phonometrograph" or "phonometrician" (meaning "someone who measures (and writes down) sounds") preferring this designation to that of "musician," after having been called "a clumsy but subtle technician" in a book on contemporary French composers published in 1911.
Erik Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde. He was a precursor to later artistic movements such as minimalism, repetitive music and the Theatre of the Absurd.
The Gymnopédies, published in Paris starting in 1888, are three piano compositions written by French composer and pianist, Erik Satie Gymnopedie 1.
The word gymnopédies was derived from a festival of ancient Sparta at which young men danced and competed against each other unencumbered by clothing, and the name was a (presumably) droll reference to Satie's gentle, dreamy, and far-from-strenuous piano exercises.
Satie’s vision of the piano’s strengths was minimalist and abstract. The mood of the three works is stately and serene, almost drifting from one moment to the next. Each of the three examines a common theme from a different perspective. Claude Debussy, who was an older contemporary and a friend, later orchestrated Gymnopédies No. 3 and No. 1.
These short, atmospheric pieces are written in 3/4 time, with each sharing a common theme and structure. Collectively, the Gymnopedie are regarded as the precursors to modern ambient music[citation needed] - gentle yet somewhat eccentric pieces which, when composed, defied the classical tradition. For instance, the first few bars feature a disjunct chordal theme in the bass - first, a G-major 7th in the bass, and then a B-minor chord, also in the lower register. Then comes the one-note theme in D major. Although the collection of chords at first seems too complex to be harmonious, the melody soon imbues the work with a soothing atmospheric quality.

Satie himself used the term "furniture music" to refer to some of his pieces, implying they could be used as mood-setting background music. However, Satie used this term to refer to only some of his later, 20th century compositions, without specific reference to the Gymnopédies as background music. From the second half of the 20th century on, the Gymnopédies were often erroneously described as part of Satie's body of furniture music, perhaps due to John Cage's interpretation of them.
(Source: Wikipedia)

Satie Gymnopedie no1.
Erik Satie Gymnopedie 1.