Satie hated it when people preferred his earlier music to his later. I may not remember the quote quite right but he said something like, "I wrote the Gymnopedies when I was 22 and the Gnossiennes when I was 23." He said this when he wanted critics to appreciate his later works. I see that neither the Thibaudet nor the Ciccolini recordings include either Parade or Socrate. Shattuck thought that the latter must be considered his masterpiece. In regard to "music" that can "express nothing," that is perhaps what he referred to elsewhere as "furniture music." I wonder what he would have thought of modern-day "elevator music." What is "the Six"? -----Original Message----- From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Eric Yost Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 12:03 PM To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Erik Satie Satie is still largely appreciated, especially by pianists, who find many of his pieces difficult in their simplicity, just as Mozart's piano works can be difficult ("too easy for children, too difficult for adults" Artur Schnabel (?) said). The recent recording by Jean-Yves Thibaudet is very fine indeed; the classic recording is by Aldo Ciccolini. My take on Satie's oddball output is that it centers on his conviction that "music can express nothing." The Six flirted with this idea, but I suppose the composer most influenced by it was Stravinsky, who is the supreme trickster of modified forms and reworkings.