Satie was an outsider who became a central figure in Parisian artistic life around the turn of the century, experimenting with ideas like minimalism, muzak, and multimedia long before they became fashionable.
Performer Biography
Anders Miolin, the alto guitarist on this recording, has won first prize at international guitar competitions in Finland, Martinique, and Italy, and received the renowned Danish Sonning award.
Compositional Technique
Satie's Gnossiennes, composed between 1889 and 1891, drew inspiration from a Romanian ensemble playing slow, introspective folk music and feature music written without bar-lines.
Instruments
The alto guitar, used on this recording by Anders Miolin, was created by Swedish instrument builder Georg Bolin in the late 1960s to make it easier to play Renaissance and Baroque lute music.
Cultural Impact
Satie's music, ignored by the French musical establishment after his death, was brought into the limelight by the avant-garde after World War II, notably by composer John Cage.
Composer Biography
Erik Satie, the composer, was born in Honfleur, Normandy, and his mother, a Scottish woman, died when he was six, leading to him being raised by his French grandparents.
Interpretation
Anders Miolin demonstrates new possibilities for the alto guitar by playing piano music, transposing it to suit the instrument's range, which is tuned a third higher than a normal guitar but has five extra bass strings.
