With a little reshuffling of tracks, Decca has reissued some of its most popular recordings of
Erik Satie's piano music, expertly performed by
Pascal Rogé, one of the leading interpreters of French keyboard music and a specialist in this composer's oeuvre. As any who have heard the famous Gymnopédie No. 1 or the mysterious Gnossiennes will already know, the style
Satie is best remembered for is a wistful, slightly melancholic lyricism, and most of the piano pieces here partake of that gentle mood and soulful expression. Yet
Satie's music can also be brightly elegant and nostalgic, as demonstrated in the tuneful Valse-Ballet and the piano version of the song Je te veux, or sarcastically witty and grotesque, as shown in Sports et divertissements and the Sonatine bureaucratique.
Rogé's assured technique and thorough understanding of
Satie's unique mannerisms and quirky humor combine into a charming portrait of the composer. The selections of this reissue are remastered digital recordings from 1984 and 1997, offering a fine piano sound and clear reproduction of
Rogé's nuanced playing.