Erik Satie
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"Éric Alfred Leslie Satie" – he signed his name "Erik Satie" after 1884 – was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde. His work was a precursor to later artistic movements such as minimalism, repetitive music, and the Theatre of the Absurd.

An eccentric, Satie was introduced as a "gymnopedist" in 1887, shortly before writing his most famous compositions, the Gymnopédies. Later, he also referred to himself as a "phonometrician" (meaning "someone who measures sounds") preferring this designation to that of a "musician", after having been called "a clumsy but subtle technician" in a book on contemporary French composers published in 1911.

In addition to his body of music, Satie also left a remarkable set of writings, having contributed work for a range of publications, from the dadaist 391 (magazine)/391 to the American culture chronicle Vanity Fair (American magazine 1913–36)/Vanity Fair. Although in later life he prided himself on always publishing his work under his own name, in the late 19th century he appears to have used pseudonyms such as "" and "" in some of his published writings.

If you enjoy these quotes, be sure to check out other famous composers! More Erik Satie on Wikipedia.

Why attack God? He may be as miserable as we are.

When I was young, I was told: 'You'll see, when you're fifty. I am fifty and I haven't seen a thing.

Before I compose a piece, I walk around it several times, accompanied by myself.

The musician is perhaps the most modest of animals, but he is also the proudest. It is he who invented the sublime art of ruining poetry.