Play these two lines of chromatic, diminished triads. (This will take a minute or two to play.) Repeat. Repeat again, and again, and again...
"In order to play this piece 840 times the performer should prepare beforehand in deep silence and serious immobility." (Erik Satie)
A nice little piece of music which develops a deep and quiet kind of beauty when repeated for hours. Demanding not only on the performer but also on the audience, but an interesting experience.
The first performance, premiered by John Cage in 1963, was played in shifts by 11 pianists (one of them being John Cale). A couple of years ago I saw a performance of Vexations played by one pianist alone. It took him almost 24 hours to play the piece 840 times. At about midnight, he jumped off his chair and disappeared to the toilet for a couple of minutes. Everybody thought that was perfectly ok. (Not many people were still in the audience at that time anyway.)
Michael Peters
Satie: L'Oeuvre pour piano, Vols. 1 & 2 [BOX SET] - Buy it at Amazon.com
Chill With Satie - Buy it at Amazon.com
Satie: Piano Works - Buy it at Amazon.com
Satie: Piano Works [BOX SET] - Buy it at Amazon.com
Erik Satie: Piano Music, Vol. 4 - Buy it at Amazon.com
Erik Satie: Vexations (1893)
