French Kiss-Off

How would you like to be the brainiacs at the Paris Conservatoire who proclaimed that Erik Satie, one of the greatest composers of the late 1800s/early 1900s, was unequivocally and hopelessly untalented? Yeah, Satie really must’ve sucked ass, ’cause 84 years after his death, folks are still giving it up...

By Steve Jansen

March 5, 2009

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18478561",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "16759093",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759092",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759094",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        }
      ]

How would you like to be the brainiacs at the Paris Conservatoire who proclaimed that Erik Satie, one of the greatest composers of the late 1800s/early 1900s, was unequivocally and hopelessly untalented? Yeah, Satie really must’ve sucked ass, ’cause 84 years after his death, folks are still giving it up to the classical master in productions such as A Beautiful Deception: From Impressionism to Surrealism. The show stars Robert Picardo (China Beach, Star Trek: Voyager, Coach Cutlip on The Wonder Years) as the epic, odd-duck French composer and pianist who is often mentioned in the same sentence as Claude Debussy.

A rare screening of René Clair's 1924 surrealist short film Entr'acte, featuring a score by Satie, precedes the performance.

Fri., March 6, 8 p.m., 2009

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.