New video: Why we can’t live without…. Satie
mainA very French, rather short, documentary for the 150th anniversary of the composer of Véxations.
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A joker, like Cage and Duchamp, but much more gifted than they were, and who wrote a handful of unforgettable pieces, turning his limitations into assets. The best I find Socrate, this ‘white wall music’ of great and, really, puzzling beauty because there is not much there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpPVqsXEIWg
Satie and Debussy were friends, until Satie cruelly broke-off the contact when Debussy was dying. He greatly suffered from Debussy’s withholding his serious endorsement when Satie got successful – Debussy thought not only Satie’s later music but also its success was a joke. He had scored some Gymnopédies, however, but entirely misconceived: enriched by Debussy’s orchestral palette which is totally out of character of Satie’s bare aesthetic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVQCo3jTNrw
Sad that types like Cage cling to Satie as their prophet to legitimize their incapacities.
“A joker, like Cage and Duchamp, but much more gifted than they were, and who wrote a handful of unforgettable pieces, turning his limitations into assets.”
Speaking of limitations, will these snide comments towards Cage and other significant composers who do not rise up to Mr. Bortslap’s paradigm of greatness ever cease and desist? This constant lecturing tone is truly tiresome by now and often tangential to the topic in focus.
The fact that there are people, who consider themselves music lovers, are under the impression that people like Cage are ‘significant composers’, fully justifies alternative readings, especially in times where serious music is under attack from populist sides. That is not ‘lecturing’, but cultural critique, in which the reception of composers like Satie play a crucial role. The irritation erupting when opinions like Cage’s ‘significance’ are countered by another opinion, shows how necessary it is to defend the art form.
Too bad YouTube can’t generate better English subtitles. The auto-generated variety don’t quite cut it. It looks like it’s well-made though.