by Ben Hogwood Picture: Erik Satie, by Pablo Picasso

Today marks the death of one of the most innovative 20^th century composers, Erik Satie.

Satie was well ahead of his time…to the extent that even now, one hundred years on, some of his music gives the appearance of being fresh off the page. And indeed, there is some ‘new’ music to enjoy from his pen, as pianist Alexandre Tharaud has recently collated an album of Satie Discoveries, to be reviewed shortly on this site.

Satie’s music has proved incredibly versatile, and his most popular pieces are heard every day – not just on classical music radio, but as part of relaxing playlists and TV soundtracks. It is certainly fair to say that if you enjoy the music of Einaudi, Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds and the like, each of them would credit Satie as a lasting influence.

Here are some of his best-known pieces, with the Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes for piano proving some of his most minimal yet most memorable compositions. To counter those, it helps to have something of the more modern Satie – the Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear, and two orchestral ballets – Relâche and Parade. Listen carefully to the latter and you will hear a tune that sounds remarkably like the theme to Postman Pat! You can access the playlist on Tidal here:

https://tidal.com/playlist/686328ca-aabf-490e-82fe-affc52d9a4b3

Published post no.2,581 – Tuesday 1 July 2025