Post by Mélanie Ferré

In 2025, the world marks the centenary of Erik Satie's death, and pianist Carmen Martínez-Pierret honors him with a singular and immersive album that traces a journey through two of his principal facets: his hypnotic, atmospheric works, and his forays into cabaret and jazz. Several reasons and protagonists make this record a unique release. The first and most important is Martínez-Pierret herself, a privileged interlocutor of the composer following a long career devoted to performing, reinterpreting, and revisiting his music. Whether through the dreamlike, repetitive Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes, or the festive waltzes and ragtimes of the album's second half, the pianist immerses us in the unique character of these pieces through warm, markedly lyrical performances. Also worth highlighting are the two collections of Pièces froides, which offer a fluid melodicism and a less rigid rhythmic concept, making them a perfect transition between the album's two sound worlds. https://lnkd.in/gC8XVyit The second raison d'être of this DanSatie is to reclaim this composer in all his strangeness and marginality. By addressing every facet of his work, and by emphasizing—as the liner notes do—his eccentric character, ill-suited to academic convention, Martínez-Pierret argues for a full reappraisal of this artist, rescuing him from distant, dismissive readings. Satie's work is human and contradictory, and I would venture to say that this is precisely the guiding principle behind the passionate performances on this record: pay attention to the transition between Danse de travers no. 3 and the Valse-ballet to hear just how closely related these two melodic discourses are, despite belonging to such different genres. #satie #dansatie #carmenmartinezpierret #pianomusic #leliaproductions #eriksatie

Video Content