
Erik Satie (1866-1925) came of age in the bohemian subculture of Montmartre, with its artists' cabarets and cafés-concerts. Yet apologists have all too often downplayed this background as potentially harmful to the reputation of a composer whom they regarded as the progenitor of modern French music. Whiting argues, on the contrary, that Satie's two decades in and around Montmartre decisively shaped his aesthetic priorities and compositional strategies. He gives the fullest account to date of Satie's professional activities as a popular musician, and of how he transferred the parodic techniques and musical idioms of cabaret entertainment to works for concert hall. From the esoteric Gymnopédies to the bizarre suites of the 1910s and avant-garde ballets of the 1920s (not to mention music journalism and playwriting), Satie's output may be daunting in its sheer diversity and heterodoxy; but his radical transvaluation of received artistic values makes far better sense once placed in the fascinating context of bohemian Montmartre.
This work investigates how Erik Satie's formative years in the bohemian subculture of Montmartre fundamentally dictated his aesthetic development and compositional methodology. Steven Moore Whiting, a scholar of musicology, challenges the traditional academic dismissal of Satie's early cabaret career. By analyzing the intersection of popular entertainment and high art, the author argues that Satie's radical musical innovations were a direct result of his immersion in the parodic and heterodox environment of late 19th-century Parisian cabarets.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Scholars and music historians frequently cite this text as a definitive resource for understanding the socio-cultural origins of Satie's avant-garde style. Readers note the academic rigor of the prose, which successfully bridges the gap between popular entertainment history and formal musicology.
Page Count:
604
Publication Date:
1999-01-01
Publisher:
Clarendon Press
ISBN-10:
0191584525
ISBN-13:
9780191584527
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