Strange Mr. Satie
When I was a child, I loved Satie’s music – so I was delighted when I grew up to discover that he had been so childlike throughout his life. His love of children’s games and circus scenes and the wonderful peculiarity of being alive informed both his music and his day-to-day routine. He spent his evenings with pranksters, dancers, magicians, and clowns. He was not always a happy man, and he had his horrible tantrums. His music is playful, yet filled with subtle and solemn emotions. His pieces, like the world of a child, are tiny and delicate, but intensely felt. When I began to read about his life, I decided I had to write a book about him – as a way to sing back to him all the things he had sung to me.