What is Erik Satie?
[[File:Ericsatie.jpg|thumb|right|Erik Satie in 1920]] [[File:Maisons Satie backside.jpg|thumb|250px|Satie's house in Honfleur]] '''Erik Alfred Leslie Satie''' (born [[Honfleur]] ([[France]]), 17 May 1866; died [[Paris]], 1 July 1925) was a [[France|French]] [[composer]]. He is mainly remembered today for his music and the strange ways he behaved. He often gave his music unusual titles such as ''Piece in the form of a pear''. His best known musical compositions are the three [[piano]] pieces which he called ''Gymnopédies''. The first of these pieces is a very famous piece of music: it is a simple tune over a gentle [[accompaniment (music)|accompaniment]]. Satie sometimes used unusual instruments such as [[siren]]s and [[typewriter]]s. Satie was more than just an unusual man. He was very important in the development of music in France in the late [[19th century|19th]] and early [[20th century]]. He was important because of the ideas he had, and many people were [[influence]]d by him. Satie used ways of composing such as very [[chromatic]] music and [[Minimalism]] before many other people. These ways of writing music became more common later in the century. Satie was not a brilliant composer, but he was happy to compose well in a simple way. He was also interested in other [[art]]s such as [[literature]] and [[painting]] and he was associated with the new ideas called ''esprit nouveau'' (new spirit) which was fashionable in France around the time of [[World War I]]. == His Life == === Early years === He was born Alfred Eric Leslie Satie, but as a grown-up he always spelled his name “Erik”. His father had been in the shipping business, but the family then moved to [[Paris]]. He was still quite young when his mother died and he was sent back to his birthplace, Honfleur, to be brought up by his father’s parents. However, his grandmother [[drown]]ed, so he was sent back to Paris again where his father taught him. His father had married again. His new wife was a pianist and sent young Eric to have piano lessons at th