Description
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Fantasy on Satie’s Ballet “Parade” by E. Satie was written to be performed at a concert themed around Sergei Diaghilev, the founder of legendary Ballets Russes. The original work recreates the bustling parade of a sideshow barker, making striking use of non-musical instrumental sounds such as a typewriter and a foghorn. While Satie’s own two-piano arrangement exists, Khozyainov composed a highly effective concert arrangement that captures Satie’s humour by reproducing these sound effects on the piano and elaborating technically demanding passages suitable for concert performance.
From Preface by the composer
I composed this Fantasy based on themes from Erik Satie’s ballet “Parade” as part of my concert program dedicated to Sergey Diaghilev, the famous impresario and founder of the ballet company “Ballets Russes”. My choice of the “Parade” is not accidental as this ballet stands as a great testament to the innovative spirit of the early 20th century and the artists working for the “Ballets Russes”.
As always, Diaghilev engaged a very impressive team of collaborators for this project – the painter Pablo Picasso, the choreographer Leonide Massine, and the conductor Ernest Ansermet.
This piece transports us to a different reality, to a world of surrealism. We are immediately taken to the bustling streets of Paris, surrounded by the city’s noises, and immersed into the pulsating life of its music halls and fairgrounds. Satie was very innovative in his orchestration by using the actual sounds of a pistol, a typewriter, a foghorn, a raffle wheel, and even milk bottles. Using all these effects, Satie created an illusion of Parisian street life, capturing its chaotic beauty and unpredictability.
Composing this Fantasy was an exploration of the piano’s possibilities; I sought ways to express the sound effects Erik Satie employed in his ballet. I would like to take you on a journey to the heart of Paris, to the atmosphere of a whimsical spectacle, blurring the boundaries between reality and imagination.
Nikolay Khozyainov
* While some passages in the composer’s own performance differ from the score, the composer himself supervised the sheet music as the definitive edition of the work.
Nikolay Khozyainov
Nikolay Khozyainov is one of the most remarkable pianists of the world. His musicality and formidable technique have thrilled audiences across the planet, his recitals and concerto engagements include sold out performances on all continents at the world’s foremost stages such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington, Wigmore Hall in London, The Louvre and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Salle Gaveau in Paris, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Sydney Opera House, Tonhalle in Zurich, Palazzo Quirinale in Rome, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, the United Nations and many others.
Maestro Khozyainov has been honored by numerous presidents and heads of state, great cultural and political figures. In January 2018, the Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan celebrated Nikolay at his concert in Tokyo’s Suntory Hall. In 2022 he was knighted by the Spanish Royal Family as Knight Commander. After Maestro Khozyainov’s concert at the United Nations in November 2022, he was awarded the Gold Medal of Peace by the Blue Helmets – the United Nations Peacekeeping Force.
Photo: Marie Staggat
