‘Everything I undertake misfires immediately. I produce dirty rubbish and that will accomplish nothing.’ So wrote Erik Satie in 1903 during a period of transition that saw him produce the last of his Rose+Croix style music in Verset laïque & somptueux, but in making a living writing for the music halls, he also created hugely popular songs such as Je te veux. The works on this fourth volume of Satie’s complete solo piano music were written between 1897 and 1906. They include rare theatre music and tender waltzes that contrast with jaunty ragtime and pantomime dances.

This recording was made on a period instrument: Erard, model 90703 (1905)