Gymnopedie No. 1 - Viola and Piano - Erik Satie - Viola Wolfgang Birtel Schott Music

The music scene took notice of Erik Satie (1866-1925) all of a sudden: The world premiere of his ballet 'Parade' on 18 May 1917 [siehe dt. Text!] caused quite a scandal. The production which involved Sergey Diaghilevwith his 'Ballets Russes', Pablo Picasso (scenery and costumes), Jean C octeau (story) as well as Lí©onide Massine (choreography) divided the music scene of Paris, yet made the composer widely known. Satie who hardly had had any solid musical training and lived in Paris for almost all hislife developed a new musical style, in deliberate rejection of the 'Wag ní©risme' of his time. Classical form models, new harmonies, stylistic ease, meditative and clownish elements amalgamated in an original way, theperfect example being his '3 Gymnopí©dies' of 1888 the first of which wa s here arranged for a solo instrument with piano accompaniment: Thus, itis now possible, even for non-pianists, to play this famous miniature b y Satie. Thanks to its easy playability, it can also be used for educational purposes.