“Study for a bust of Mr. Erik Satie painted by himself, with a thought: I came into the world very young during a very old time.” [New York Times caption and illustration, my translation]
I discovered Satie long ago through Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes, and liked the music immediately. I thought of him as a “minor” composer, and I was drawn to perceived niche tastes. I crave even now the unmoored feeling that his music gave me then.
Satie’s “Vexations,” came with instructions to repeat them 840 times, entailing a running time of about 19 hours. Here’s the thing: “Strangely, it resists memorization. Pianists have played it for long stretches, stood up from their instruments and realized they already forgot it.”
“Bohéme” (“The Bohemian”), a portrait of Satie in his studio in Montmartre by his friend Santiago Rusiñol. Credit… Fine Art Images/Heritage Images, via Getty Images. [New York Times caption and illustration]
Vexations! A lovely moniker. It reminds me of my experience with certain poetry: I interact with it as intensely as I can; maybe it marks me somehow, yet it scampers out of range of the retentive faculty.
He would write for performers to play “from the top of yourself” and “full of subtlety, if you believe me.” He seemed fixated on body parts, with instructions like “with tears in your fingers,” “on the tips of your back teeth” or “out of the corner of your hand.”
A performance of Satie’s “Parade,” a collaboration with Cocteau, Picasso and the choreographer Léonide Massine for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Credit… Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images. [New York Times caption and illustration]
(Joshua Barone, “Satie’s Music Will Always Be Popular. But Will We Ever Understand It?” New York Times, 7-2-25)
(c) 2025 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved
EthicalDative 
Wonderful! Vexations – just the right word for these days!
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Being vexed feels more dignified than being “confused”! Cheers, Sue.
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Yes indeed!
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You have reminded me of a time when i was excited to start a new job and take on its challenges. Gearing up for the excitement and heightened drama of the first day, I could not get Gymnopedie #1 out of my head. It just ran and ran as a kind of of brain calmer and emotional anchor.
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That’s a lovely memory of the music you express.
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