Most composers want people to listen to their music. Not Eric Satie, a prolific French composer active in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Perhaps inspired by his work as a café pianist, Satie coined the term “Musique d’ameublement,” which roughly translates to “furniture music” to describe his genre of live background music. Satie expected his music to be “unconsciously absorbed” rather than consciously listened to in a concert setting.
As the father of today’s “elevator music,” most of Satie’s music is minimalist and soothing and is enjoyable for the performer and audience alike.
