Philip Corner

American composer Philip Corner likes Satie too well not to object to how he is played. From the time of his participation in the first performance of Erik Satie's "Vexations" he realized that here was, lurking under the travesties of the 1st Gymnopédie, one of the greats of this or any other century... a "secret genius" who masked with humility and seeming conformity a profoundly innovative thorough-going critique of the limitations and pretensions of our High Culture as it has come down to us. A 44 page booklet of commentary and and additional 16 page booklet of graphic analyses set out to demonstrate this - with implication for performance of the works. As the record title "Satie Slowly" shows, the indication "lent" is taken at its full value. An ample selection of piano pieces, spread across 2 CDs, come from his early period, music with great spiritual content.

"Pianist Philip Corner slows down Erik Satie and shows where Philip Glass, Terry Riley and Steve Reich came from ... Hearing Satie's "Ogives," it is hard to believe that these pieces were composed a half century or more than Glass' Piano Music.  ... Corner's playing is deliberate and intense, produced with the effort of restraint. This affects Satie's compositions as if seen through a crisp magnifier shining light on every crevasse and crack present." - All About Jazz