Embedded Files
1) Première Gymnopédie [0'00'']2) Deuxième Gymnopédie [3'23'']3) Troisième Gymnopédie [6'20'']
PROGRAM NOTE
The Gymnopédies, or Trois Gymnopédies, are three piano compositions written by French composer and pianist Erik Satie. He completed the whole set by 2 April 1888, but they were at first published individually: the first and the third in 1888, the second in 1895. The work's unusual title comes from the French form of gymnopaedia, the ancient Greek word for an annual festival where young men danced naked. These short, atmospheric pieces are written in 3/4 time, with each sharing a common theme and structure. The melodies of the pieces use deliberate, but mild, dissonances against the harmony, producing a piquant, melancholy effect that matches the performance instructions, which are to play each piece "painfully" (douloureux), "sadly" (triste), or "gravely" (grave).
This original piece presents a deliberately distorted reimagining of the source work—a personal transformation of Satie's music, as though his art were reflected through a broken mirror.
The practice of revisiting, recreating, and reinterpreting historical works stems from my admiration for Pablo Picasso’s Las Meninas, itself conceived in dialogue with Diego Velázquez’s masterpiece. The much-cited phrase attributed to Picasso—“Good artists copy, great artists steal”—captures a philosophy of creative adaptation and transformation: not imitation, but the absorption and reconfiguration of existing works so they may re-emerge as something both personal and new. In this sense, transformation becomes a key to innovation, grounded in a deep and active engagement with artistic heritage.
PROGRAM NOTE
The Gymnopédies, or Trois Gymnopédies, are three piano compositions written by French composer and pianist Erik Satie. He completed the whole set by 2 April 1888, but they were at first published individually: the first and the third in 1888, the second in 1895. The work's unusual title comes from the French form of gymnopaedia, the ancient Greek word for an annual festival where young men danced naked. These short, atmospheric pieces are written in 3/4 time, with each sharing a common theme and structure. The melodies of the pieces use deliberate, but mild, dissonances against the harmony, producing a piquant, melancholy effect that matches the performance instructions, which are to play each piece "painfully" (douloureux), "sadly" (triste), or "gravely" (grave).
This original piece presents a deliberately distorted reimagining of the source work—a personal transformation of Satie's music, as though his art were reflected through a broken mirror.
The practice of revisiting, recreating, and reinterpreting historical works stems from my admiration for Pablo Picasso’s Las Meninas, itself conceived in dialogue with Diego Velázquez’s masterpiece. The much-cited phrase attributed to Picasso—“Good artists copy, great artists steal”—captures a philosophy of creative adaptation and transformation: not imitation, but the absorption and reconfiguration of existing works so they may re-emerge as something both personal and new. In this sense, transformation becomes a key to innovation, grounded in a deep and active engagement with artistic heritage.
Albert CARBONELL - GYMNOPÉDIES (for piano).pdfGoogle Sites
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