Satie Surprises Christina Bjørkøe

• Erik Satie 1866 - 1925): Petite ouverture à danser (before 1900):
• 1 Satie: Petite ouverture à danser (before 1900) 01:28
• Facheux exemple (1906-1913):
• 2 Satie: Facheux exemple (1906-1913) 01:10
• Effronterie (1906-1913):
• 3 Satie: Effronterie (1906-1913) 01:59
• Airs à faire fuir I (1897):
• 4 Satie: Airs à faire fuir I (1897) 04:16
• Airs à faire fuir II (1897):
• 5 Satie: Airs à faire fuir II (1897) 01:19
• Airs à faire fuir III (1897):
• 6 Satie: Airs à faire fuir III (1897) 03:35
• Son binocle (1915):
• 7 Satie: Son binocle (1915) 01:22
• Profondeur (1906-1913):
• 8 Satie: Profondeur (1906-1913) 01:48
• Idylle (à Debussy) (1915):
• 9 Satie: Idylle (à Debussy) (1915) 01:10
• Aubade (à Paul Dukas) (1915).
• 10 Satie: Aubade (à Paul Dukas) (1915) 01:24
• Méditation (à Albert Roussel) (1915):
• 11 Satie: Méditation (à Albert Roussel) (1915) 00:58
• Nocturne I (1919):
• 12 Satie: Nocturne I (1919) 03:36
• Nocturne Nocturne II (1919):
• 13 Satie: Nocturne Nocturne II (1919) 02:36
• Nocturne III (1919):
• 14 Satie: Nocturne III (1919) 03:21
• Froide Froide songerie (1906-1913):
• 15 Satie: Froide Froide songerie (1906-1913) 00:44
• Prélude canin (1906-1913):
• 16 Satie: Prélude canin (1906-1913) 01:02
• Deux rêveries I (1910-1911):
• 17 Satie: Deux rêveries I (1910-1911) 01:37
• Deux rêveries II (1910-1911):
• 18 Satie: Deux rêveries II (1910-1911) 02:26
• Prélude de la porte héroique du ciel (1894):
• 19 Satie: Prélude de la porte héroique du ciel (1894) 04:33
• Songe Songe-creux (1906-1913):
• 20 Satie: Songe Songe-creux (1906-1913) 01:55
• Caresse (1897):
• 21 Satie: Caresse (1897) 01:48
• Poésie (1906-1913):
• 22 Satie: Poésie (1906-1913) 00:55
• Désespoir agréable (1906-1913):
• 23 Satie: Désespoir agréable (1906-1913) 00:52
• Nostalgie (1906-1913):
• 24 Satie: Nostalgie (1906-1913) 01:04
• Prélude I (1888-1892):
• 25 Satie: Prélude I (1888-1892) 04:26
• Prélude II (1888-1892):
• 26 Satie: Prélude II (1888-1892) 02:49
• Prélude III (1888-1892):
• 27 Satie: Prélude III (1888-1892) 04:20
• Total Runtime 58:33

Info for Satie Surprises

In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of Satie’s Death

Erik Satie’s influence, once barely acknowledged, has now permeated nearly every corner of modern music. Best known for the sensual simplicity of his tender Gymnopédies, such seeming naivety masked a colorful, and frequently, complex life and artistic vision. The experimental composer John Cage famously called Satie “indispensable,” citing him as a profound inspiration for his own groundbreaking work.

Satie’s eccentricities were part of his charm, and this whimsy often seeped into his work. In Embryons desséchés (Dried Embryos), for instance, he included absurd instructions in the score, phrases like “on the tip of your tongue” or “open your head,” as well as giving his works absurd titles like Effronterie and Prélude canin, gleefully written to deflate the precious seriousness of classical music traditions. In contrast, there are works like Pieces froides (1897) that anticipate the rhythmic minimalism of Philip Glass and his visionary 5 Nocturnes (1919), the final series of his cyclically organized piano pieces composed using a highly system rigorously guiding the interplay of melody (right hand) and harmonic accompaniment (left hand). Even today, there are many surprises to be discovered in Satie’s oeuvre.

This specially curated program is brilliantly realized by Christina Bjørkøe, one of Denmark’s leading musicians. Much in demand as a recitalist, chamber musician and as a soloist with symphony orchestras ClassicsToday praised Bjørkøe for her dynamism and passion. Her extensive discography includes critically acclaimed recordings of works spanning the piano repertoire from Beethoven to Borup-Jørgensen.

Christina Bjørkøe, piano

Christina Bjørkøe
The Danish concert pianist Christina Bjørkøe was born in Copenhagen. At the age of 19 she was accepted by the Juilliard School of Music in New York where she studied with Seymour Lipkin, as later with Anne Oland at the Royal Danish Academy of Music. She received her first musical training from Therese Koppel.

At the age of 16 Christina Bjørkøe was already performing as a soloist with an orchestra. She has appeared as a soloist, with orchestral engagements and as chamber musician at venues in Denmark, including the Tivoli Concert Hall’s major Beethoven, Chopin and Schubert series, as well as in Sweden, Germany, Italy, The Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland, France, South America, China, USA, and many domestic venues.

Christina Bjørkøe's recording of Knudåge Riisager's piano music received the Danish Music Award 2005 and 2009 her recording of Carl Nielsen: Complete Piano Works received the Danish Music Award as Solo Recording of the Year.

She twice won First Prize in the Steinway Competition and has been awarded several other prizes and grants including the prestigious Victor Borge Award.

Christina Bjørkøe is an associate professor at The Carl Nielsen Academy of Music.

Booklet for Satie Surprises