Erik Satie - Gnossienne 1 --- Otto Tolonen, guitar

Erik Satie - Gnossienne 1 (arr. Roland Dyens)
Otto Tolonen, guitar
Sibelius Academy Concert Hall, Helsinki, Finland
www.ottotolonen.net
October 2010

[@ClariceAust]

You can tell the masters; there is that fine judgement on the knife edge of restraint, slicing off excess. Too beautiful.

[@musicbymartinv]

So eloquently stated.

[@solidcatink]

beautiful description...

[@robertcronin6603]

Well said 🔥

[@ulysse892]

very well said! I had once the exact same feeling with the writings of Gilbert Lely, biographer of the Marquis de Sade

[@catmeifyoucan4649]

Elegantly put.

[@Psychospic]

The guitar adds a different tone to the whole piece. It doesn't have that haunting presence that the piano leaves you with. Not that that's a bad thing, just different. I like it.

[@nostalgiacreep]

sounds a little quirkier and more romantic on the guitar

[@itspietime4u]

nostalgiacreep it did always sound a little more, evil to be diction'ly boring, on piano

[@jukvox]

Psychospic true that, it doesn't have the haunting feel that the piano gives. I'm guessing it's because of the lack of sustained dissonant notes, that is impossible to achieve, to certain degree, on the guitar.

[@sunaJH]

I feel the strings lend a fluidity and intimacy lacking in the piano, with electric acoustic the shades are endless, this artist does an incredible job of tone with just the guitar

[@the0point]

agreed, on piano it is haunting. sounds more like zorba on guitar.

[@giannistampakos5359]

It is not just the song that is a masterpiece... It's mostly the playing perfection.

[@margaretlavender9647]

It’s NOT a ‘song’. It has No words! It never has had words. It is ‘a piece’ of classical music.

[@nicomeier8098]

For my ears, this beautifull piece is played to near perfection: sensitively and delicately played, very nice.

[@lurs21]

Perfection in dit

[@edwardmorton6691]

The first time I heard this played on piano it stuck in my head for weeks. I'd never heard anything quite like it before and those dissonances were a bit like a pain in the tooth that you can't keep your tongue from retuning to poke it just so you can feel the hurt it brings. Your guitar version is remarkably good in the sense that it captures that melancholic pain extremely well. There's great beauty in your interpretation of this piece and I thank you wholeheartedly for posting it. I will probably learn it one day for there's nothing like it as far as I know in the guitar repertoire .. well done sir.

[@bczpd]

I love your analogy

[@bobbyevans8496]

Edward Morton yes, beautiful analogy.

[@cmb6087]

I had minimal interest in classical music, then heard the original version of this. I loved it, but it was incredibly sad at the same time. Amazing performance!

[@augustoremoerdosain]

Nice text, mate.

[@lorenh763]

gorgeous! I never heard Satie played on guitar before

[@danielblaze4112]

1ere gymnopedie aussi que j'ai entendue puis jouée

[@simianto9957]

@@danielblaze4112 dont assume everyone can speak french man

[@danielblaze4112]

@@simianto9957 @Senne Reinders Sorry! I heard the first gymnopedie Éric Satie on the guitar and I played it too.

[@lucbrassier9378]

Vous devez écouter l'album "sketches of Satie" de Steve Hacket ancien guitariste de Genesis..

[@sharonconstant399]

This is the definition of exquisite. I could listen to this thousands of times and never grow tired of it.

[@0ddity]

This is by far one of the most beautiful pieces I have ever heard.

[@minty448]

I'm learning to play this on the tuba.

[@littleratblue]

LOL.

[@Ozoneum1]

That would actually be pretty cool, if you could pull it off...

[@joshfeatherstone8546]

I'm learning to whistle it.

[@Gieszkanne]

I can fart this.

[@JohansPiano]

I can play it on the piano

[@italobino7167]

mio Dio, Otto is perfect, è perfetto! Grazie.

[@christian_lied]

I didn’t think it was possible to play it with a guitar, but boy was I wrong

[@ThvonS]

Agreed

[@Mruben10]

Bravo muchacho

[@Minotauro_di_Chieti]

Roland Dyens proved it

[@ivanbenedetti3597]

It's quite easy with guitar 😄 Well, ofc he plays it wonderfully, but it's really not a hard piece to learn on guitar.

[@mortenkriss1601]

@@ivanbenedetti3597 I am practicing this piece now. Its not hard to play through it. However, to make it sound this nice, that is another story.

[@bozennajennieg4559]

Spellbinding, spine-chilling performance. An absolutely stunning rendition of this hauntingly beautiful piece of music, played with such precision and clarity. Otto strokes and caresses the strings of his guitar with a delicate gentle passion that take me to another world. I am enthralled. A true artist. Genuis. I have no moe words.

[@angelikaseegers-classicalg8053]

Sehr schön !! Poetisch und intensiv musiziert. Eine sehr schöne Atmosphäre 👏👏👏

[@jackdolphy8965]

For me, knowing this music for nearly 50 years … your performance brings me to hearing this like for the first time. And as perfectly played - speed and flow and nuance - as ever I have heard this. Please if you have not already give a gift to the future of this world and make a recording of as much Satie as you can. Your gift is precious rare and glorious. Thank you for this video 🙏🏼

[@user-zu8gb8zb5m]

❤

[@daanigarda]

SO CLEAN

[@DANVIIL]

Beautiful! Such a delicate and clean sound and technique!

[@pickmeasinner]

I'm a guitarist and i loved this piece since I first heard it. Played on piano of course. The nonsensical thing is, i have NO idea where i first heard it, but it has haunted me for ages and i had nowhere to start in searching for its name. Lately it has popped up in KZbin shorts as background music a couple of times, driving me crazy all over again. And over the last few months ive asked in the comments several times for a name of either the piece, the composer or a movie i might have heard it in. ANY clue as to where i picked up this damn earworm! Last night I finally got the name Erik Satie! This is my next project to learn on guitar. Such a deeply haunting piece of music to me. But I'm over the moon to have my answer, and many thanks to that guy who actually bothered to put me out of my misery!

[@shin-i-chikozima]

His wonderful performance is a great gift to guitar lovers His incomparable performance is my cure - all . I only listen , and my trouble will be healed . From Tokyo full of the beauty of Spring of the Land of the Rising Sun .

[@danc3831]

Absolutely incredible.....A sound that can only be heard in the hearer's heart.

[@amarietarbes]

Je ne saurais pas dire si la guitare et plus ou moins adaptée à cette œuvre que le piano...je sais juste que mon âme s'est emplie de joie et de paix en écoutant cette superbe interprétation. Pour moi elle est parfaite, magique. Merci pour ce moment de vrai bonheur 🙏

[@thomasmaze9156]

C'est la 2e version à la guitare que j'écoute, elle est très différente de celle-ci : kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4rOkI2EnZh5obM Je la préfère à cause de la qualité du son, et aussi parce que la version d'Otto Tolonen me paraît trop lente, sans relief et lointaine. Et aussi, arriver sur scène sans avoir accordé sa guitare au préalable, je trouve que c'est un manque de respect au public.

[@amarietarbes]

Merci pour ce partage, c'est une belle interprétation, très délicate mais qui reste classique. Je préfère la version d'Otto qui est pour moi plus sensible, intérieure et profonde...ce n'est que mon ressenti et bien sûr pas un jugement de valeur sur ces deux magnifiques artistes.

[@lanmichaelmix2818]

Satie's music sounds like it's so philosophical

[@Junker-JeuFwf9599]

Vielen Dank für das Teilen erhebender Musik

[@stevecase19]

Recently I learned to play this dark and haunting piece which I really like. I love your sensitive, calm, unhurried performance, and the tone from your guitar. Thank you! Steve Case

[@liewsilver8962]

Dark and haunting.....beautiful......

[@tatianadebrem2769]

tatiana58 0ui, c'est une lente et délicieuse montée vers le ciel. Otto Tolonen interprète cette pièce de façon exemplaire.

[@RaptorV1USA]

I've been looking, and I simply cannot find a more perfect, more inspiring, more beautiful and astonishing live guitar performance of any song here on on YT... Cant like enough.

[@AllyKiss18]

It’s amazing how it sounds Spanish, almost flamenco in style on guitar, compared to piano which sounds far more period classical.

[@weirdmindedmonkey]

Thats the beauty of Instruments.. Its a heavy, thoughtful piece on the guitar too, but it def connects to the romantic guitar period.

[@juliusebola9712]

Agreed

[@britinbigd]

Close your eyes, you will be transported to Southern Spain. The guitar treatment adds a subtle layer of pathos, melancholy and longing.

[@boyanaskrbic]

@@Lobstrominous Right, it's reminiscent of Slavic dances.

[@marecku21]

Wow, this piece is absolutely perfect for the guitar - it is hauntingly beautiful.

[@HerrDagerman]

Best version I've found on the internet. I used to play this song myself :) Greetings from Sweden Otto

[@RightToSelfDefense]

This song touch my soul. I first heard this song just today. Can't see how I missed this song in my Music Appreciation class years ago.

[@williamgeorges5494]

Quelle finesse dans l'interprétation ! Le guitariste caresse les cordes avec une légèreté en harmonie parfaite avec la musique toute en intimité de Satie.

[@permaveg]

Steve Hackett on acoustic guitar and his brother John on flute did a wonderful album of Satie's work, the flute creates an eerie quality, well worth checking out.

[@iankr]

Did they do this piece?

[@bigdanyfamily]

@@iankr yes

[@bigdanyfamily]

@@iankr kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4LLh6mtZtJgjpY

[@willjones6722]

I would like to think that this interpretation has the tempo Satie would appreciate the most. Breathtaking. Bravo!

[@Cordizel]

Best guitar version out there.

[@janedoe4780]

I'm so enthralled by this cover. Beautiful.

[@claudiocruzat4768]

that sound..great guitar player... Mr satie is pleased beyond the realms of life

[@seantolstoyevski1159]

I got up from all the code I wrote. And I'm listening to Satie. God, that double section; my heart is melting. This is coming from another universe. A human could not have written this. Anguish, notes of mind-boggling thoughts. I do not know.

[@johnhaller7017]

A very spatial composition and interpreted beautifully by Otto Tolonen. I have a recording of this on Piano and the guitar is just that little bit more expressive. The Gnossiennes are like abstract paintings comparing with the whimsical gymnopedies which have a more conventional feel to them. These pieces make me think of the long walks that Satie took around Paris and it's suburbs. I am sure that many of his compositions arose during these walks. The rhythm of walking and the mind under it's influence would have brought forth just such musical mysteries.

[@catherinem6450]

I also prefer the guitar

[@BrendanGM]

You convey the emotion in this piece perfectly. Thank you for posting this all those years ago.

[@omidhimmati]

It takes a guitar master to play such a master with a guitar. I totally love this.

[@smokybarnable7464]

Bravo. You make it sound like it was composed for guitar. I love that, given that the piece needs air, you have such confidence in the precision of your technique that you just let the guitar almost play itself.

[@catmeifyoucan4649]

Lovely rendition of this song. He's so good and into his technique you'd think he's making love to that pristine guitar.

[@alexbetrozov8442]

Slow and beautiful, thanks. This melody like a ghost with none stop happiness and tragedy

[@pablotrobo]

I am so glad to see and listen to this!

[@SuperDitdit]

gentle and lovely. Thank you!

[@robertflynn6686]

Knowing Satie by guitar is essential. To grasp his life. And his dark emotions.. I really enjoyed this.

[@davidgatfield8847]

Simply beautiful.

[@ImagineWhy]

Amazing you played with such precision with such a delicate song

[@margaretjohnson1401]

Just beautiful, sensitive and evocative. Thankyou

[@vishravarsr7794]

one of the best rendition i have heard. how can any one even dislike !!!

[@bronx7886]

Absolutely sublime. Thank you 🙏.

[@TigaToonsELTiagor]

How is possible than a mere human with a piece of wood with plastic attached to it makes another mere human travel through so many memories, stories, places and emotions.

[@simonrechner]

Beautiful. A real pleasure to watch

[@g-love6507]

Why is Satie's melodies always haunting, melancholy and beautiful at the same time ?

[@JCO2002]

Brilliant and beautiful, thank you.

[@javijavier9553]

great tune...i could play this over and over and over again on the piano...very trance-like!!

[@robynfletcher9932]

this is one of my favourite pieces to play on piano

[@Master...deBater]

Absolutely fantastic!!!

[@catherinekyngdon327]

Beautiful. The guitar sings.

[@sunaJH]

I would say it weeps

[@Leuke78]

Wow! What a great surprise to find out this wonderful piece of art played so well! Thank you!

[@KnoxBronson]

Absolutely sublime. Beautiful tone, perfect phrasing! Thank you.

[@brendajeannewyche2294]

So lovely . Mesmerizing.

[@user-yr3yf3nd2i]

I am deeply impressed...tone is excellent!!! Thank you!!!

[@donwilsmore3945]

Just beautiful Otto ...one of my favourite pieces of classical music ...and played on the Guitar !

[@Jack-fs2im]

Thought there was no way a guitar to get near a piano with this tune but well done to the performer it was a great version.thanx

[@l8tbloomer]

nicely drifting tempo, which is the essence of Satie's new musical form.

[@meechaf8546]

beautiful

[@rachelw1624]

So beautiful, my heart soars 💕🙏💕

[@Apple-gq9ki]

Found this excellent. Moving. Thank you.

[@melania1899]

Wonderful - everything : the arrangement for guitar, the playing, the feeling. congratulations!

[@RHoffmnn]

Wonderfully done. Thanks so very much for sharing this with us.

[@gerardguillard2917]

frissons merci Monsieur

[@erikary5600]

Thank you. What a beautiful and moving performance. I appreciate the hard work you put into this piece.

[@Foto_School]

Incredible, perfection, so good.

[@trevorstreet7279]

Just beautiful.

[@loribrown59]

Wow. Just wow. This has always been a favorite piece of music but this was exquisite! I love watching Mr. Tolonen hands as they move so cleanly and delicately along the strings. Not one extraneous tone. Thank you for such a pleasure!

[@MrRyan187]

I absolutely love this version

[@fischek]

absolutely amazing!

[@rvbricout]

Tout simplement magnifique !

[@Tuurke01]

Goosebumps all over....what a great guitar arrangment

[@MarbleStatueMillett]

Was watching ‘newness’ they played this, and I didn’t know off the top of my head what song it was, looked in my playlist and yes intuition served me right. An astounding piece, and well played.

[@darrenhirst9900]

That was absolutely beautiful.

[@JSmith2501]

So faithful, so true to the work, so true to the instrument! I was deeply inspired by his performance. Thank you so much!

[@julietteshenacupuncture1809]

so good. different ambiance. wow. Fantastic

[@thatsmyjam186]

Love playing this piece on the piano, so hauntingly beautiful, now I get to learn it on guitar!

[@tartaringus]

perfect control,

[@Raptorman0909]

Timing for this piece, whether on guitar or piano, is almost impossible to play at the proper tempo for all listeners. I don't know of any other piece that has so many preferring this to be slower. But, without a doubt, Otto nails Gnossienne 1 pretty near perfectly. And given the relative lack of sustain, relative to the piano that is, he manages to come pretty close to the piece as written and yet provide a wonderful second look at this great work. Brian

[@francoisona]

I don't agree the tempo is too irregular. No consistency or musical sense behind the changes in my opinion.

[@psychedelicpain420]

I think the tempo is your own feeling. I also dont know the ''original'' tempo. I just play according to my feelings. So it comes naturally

[@DrKub007]

the total opposit of the author purpose : this guitar performance proves this was meant to be played with exagerated shades of rythm and intensity ..... i think your comment suits way better the whole work of chopin .....( i hate rubato, but here in satie it is legit)

[@Raptorman0909]

As I understand it, Satie did NOT include notes relating to tempo so everyone that plays this piece is free to interpret as they see fit. My point is that no two people can agree on what is or is not the proper tempo. Further, this piece, along with, say, the first movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata," although trivially easy from an athletic standpoint, is nonetheless punishingly difficult to get the timing right.

[@TrucSale]

this, there aren't even bars in the original partition

[@edwardmorton6691]

You have captured the essence of this piece very well on the guitar. I'm sure Satie would approve. Very nice clean tone and those semi tonal dissonances get me every time. Well played.

[@user-vb1bp5cy9c]

Otto, I can't describe all my feelings! I adore Satie. You played it so amazing. Thank you so much!

[@lupsie19]

I listen to this every day

[@rsandow]

jes, brilliant played a true pleasure to listen to your interpretation

[@MasterOfNone2023]

Excellent work. A beautiful piece to begin with, made even more beautiful by the tone, the presence of the guitar, and the player's skill. This gave me chills.

[@aptelbruno8316]

Formidable interprétation qui se marie bien avec Eric Satie. Merci.

[@TheYannickOne]

so pure, no harsh noises whatsoever - bravo

[@chipmcg7766]

This is so good, love his performance. The best one I have heard IMO

[@sunaJH]

Masterfully played

[@louisromao7183]

I saw you perform this in Esztergom, Hungary in 2009. You played this piece as an encore. This brings back wonderful memories. Thank you!

[@ropehead]

A fantastic version of a beautiful song.

[@justinheuvelmans]

This is an absolutely stellar rendition!

[@momof4momof413]

Amazing, I never knew this could sound so beautifully played on guitar. This is by far the best I have ever heard. ❤️

[@jsa444]

I had a stream of music going in the background as I worked, but when this came on, I had to stop and look. Excellent job.

[@peterlloyd5285]

Wonderful interpretation. Technique, tone and touch. Some can do it , most can't.