Erik Satie Three Piece Suite by Ian Penman

Composer, pianist and writer Erik Satie was one of the great figures of Belle Époque Paris. Known for his unvarying image of bowler hat, three-piece suit and umbrella, Satie was a surrealist before Surrealism and a conceptual artist before Conceptual Art. Friend of Cocteau and Debussy, Picabia and Picasso, Satie was always a few steps ahead of his peers at the apex of modernism. There’s scarcely a turn in postwar music, both classical and popular, that Satie doesn’t anticipate. Moving from the variety shows of Montmartre’s Le Chat Noir to suburban Arcueil, from the Parisian demi-monde to the artistic avant-garde, cult critic Ian Penman’s masterful Erik Satie Three Piece Suite is an exhilarating and playful three-part study of this elusive and endlessly fascinating figure, published to mark the centenary of Satie's death.

REVIEWS

"A glorious celebration of this most elusive and ambiguous of early 20th-century composers…. A delight to read." - John Banville, Observer

"Entertaining and enriching … this impressionistic work of criticism is nimble, dwelling in or creating poignant moods. I came away [with] a strong feel for [Satie’s] sensibility, and now find myself revisiting his music obsessively." - Financial Times

"Dazzling…. [This] book leaves you with a playlist that will take weeks to work through. And be in no doubt: you’ll want to hear what Penman’s heard.… What more can one ask of criticism than that it turn you on to stuff you’ve never seen or heard?" ―The Spectator

PRODUCT DETAILS
Paperback with French flaps
Publisher: Fitzcarraldo Editions
ISBN: 978-1804271537
Pages: 224