Erik Satie

(Paperback)

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Description

A musical composer who dabbled in the Dada movement, a Bohemian 'gymnopdiste' of fin-de-sicle Montmartre, and a legendary dresser known as 'The Velvet Gentleman' for his sartorial choices, Erik Satie was nearly unprecedented in technique, style and philosophy among European composers in the early twentieth century. Yet his legacy has largely languished in the shadows of Stravinsky, Debussy and Ravel. Mary E. Davis now brings Satie to life in this fascinating new biography that demonstrates that his musical innovations reached as far as his influence.

Reviews

'A welcome reassessment of Satie that places him at the hub of radical events' - Classic FM Magazine '[this] slim, yet powerful biography ... Mary E. Davis's fascinating biography adds much to our understanding about this enigmatic yet crucial modernist figure.' -Modernism/Modernity 'a lucid, elegantly written biography and a distinguished addition to the general literature on the composer ... the book's greatest asset is Davis's consistent focus on the complex social milieu of Satie's career and ways that this fertile environment shaped and defined his work. Her exploration of the symbiotic relationship between music, art, and fashion provides a solid foundation for the examination of similar issues with composers from France and beyond. Erik Satie is a welcome step in that direction.' - Notes

Author Bio

Mary E. Davis is Associate Professor at Case Western Reserve University and is also the author of Classic Chic: Music, Fashion, and Modernism (2006).