Erik Satie - La Route blanche (Claire Chevallier)

Information

Composer: Erik Satie

• Désespoir agréable
• Les trois valses distinguées du précieux dégouté
• Avant-dernières pensées
• Je te veux
• Pièces froides, I. "Airs à faire fuir"
• Pièces froides, II. Danses de travers
• La Diva de l'empire
• Prélude en tapisserie
• Préludes flasques (pour un chien)
• Allons-y Chochotte
• Profondeur
• Effronterie
• Poésie
• Songe-creux
• Carnet d'esquisses et de croquis: No. 16, Exercices, Soigneusement modéré
• Sonatine bureaucratique
• Carnet d'esquisses et de croquis: No. 19, Gambades

Claire Chevallier, piano

Claron McFadden, soprano

Date: 2026

Label: Passacaille

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A central figure in early twentieth-century French music, Erik Satie remains influential for his originality and defiance of convention. As Jean Cocteau observed, Satie’s art evokes a “blank road” open to individual interpretation, an image that shapes this album’s atmosphere. Works such as Airs à faire fuir, Danses de travers, and Préludes flasques reflect this introspective aesthetic, while pieces like Je te veux and La Diva de l’Empire, featuring soprano Claron McFadden, capture the vibrant spirit of Montmartre’s cabaret scene. The album concludes with an unpublished text by writer Caroline Lamarche, offering a literary tribute to Satie’s enduring artistic legacy.

Claire Chevallier (born 1969) is a Franco-Belgian pianist renowned for her specialization in the fortepiano. Trained in Nancy, Strasbourg, Paris, and Brussels, she studied with notable teachers including Hélène Boschi and Bruno Rigutto, earning top prizes in piano and chamber music. Inspired by Jos van Immerseel, she developed a deep interest in historical instruments and performance practice. Since 2004, she has taught fortepiano at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and serves on juries for major competitions. Chevallier has assembled a collection of historic Érard pianos and recorded repertoire ranging from Franck and Saint-Saëns to Mussorgsky and Ravel, emphasizing historically informed interpretation.

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