Erik Satie Popular Songs Ranking [2026]

Le PiccadillyErik Satie15rank/position

Satie: Piccadilly [Naxos Classical Curations #Energetic]

This commercial portrays Sairi Ito spending an ordinary day with the Move Canbus.

She heads to various places, such as an unmanned vegetable stand and a house with a dog, conveying the peace of mind that the Move Canbus provides along the way.

The music, “Le Piccadilly,” further emphasizes the relaxed atmosphere of this everyday life.

Its key feature is that it’s performed solely on piano, expressing brightness and lightness with a bouncy rhythm and melody.

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kappamaki

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Three Preludes of the Son of the StarsErik Satie16rank/position

Satie: Three Preludes to 'The Sons of the Stars' / Aki Takahashi

Composed in 1891 by Erik Satie, a composer often dubbed the enfant terrible of the music world, Three Preludes to The Son of the Stars is a pivotal work that marked a turning point in his musical career.

Exuding a mystical atmosphere, the piece showcases Satie’s distinctive experimental approach and is regarded as a forerunner of minimalism.

Performed from a score that does away with barlines and time signatures and includes unconventional performance directions, it produces an unfamiliar sonic experience.

Why not surrender yourself to its gently permeating melodies and sense the profound message woven into the music?

Gymnopédies: No. 1 (from “Three Gymnopédies”)Erik Satie17rank/position

Satie: Gymnopédie No. 1 [Performance Score]

Erik Satie was a French composer active from the late 19th to the early 20th century.

This solo piano piece, known as one of Satie’s masterpieces, is characterized by a simple yet profound melody and harmony.

It proceeds at a slow tempo in 3/4 time, and its harmony—featuring abundant major sevenths and slash chords—has a refined, jazz-like color.

Composed in 1888, the piece was inspired by ancient Greek festivals.

Its quiet, dreamlike atmosphere has made it a popular choice as background music in films and television programs.

Because the hand movements remain relatively straightforward throughout, it is also recommended for beginner pianists.

GnossienneErik Satie18rank/position

Satie: Gnossienne No. 1, Pianist Yuki Kondo / Satie: Gnossienne No. 1, Yuki Kondo

Erik Satie, a French composer active from the 19th to the 20th century, was known as an “iconoclast of the music world.” He was deeply impressed by Romanian music, Javanese gamelan, Hungarian music, and more at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris.

The piece, which has a somewhat Oriental atmosphere and in its original form contains neither time signatures nor barlines, offers a glimpse of the influences he absorbed at the exposition.

The term “Gnossienne” is said to be a neologism coined by Satie himself, based on the Greek word for “to know,” gnōristē.

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HATSUMI

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Gymnopédie No. 2Erik Satie19rank/position

Gymnopédie No. 2

The French composer Erik Satie completed the piano collection Trois Gymnopédies by April 1888.

This second piece in the set bears the instruction “slowly and sadly,” and exudes a distinctive sense of weightless suspension.

Like the famous No.

1, it possesses a simple beauty, but its more introspective, shadowed sonorities quietly soothe the listener.

Its calmly repeated rhythms won’t interfere with work, so why not let it play as study BGM and immerse yourself in Satie’s unique world?

Gymnopédie No. 3Erik Satie20rank/position

Gymnopédie No. 3

The third piece in the piano set composed in 1888 by French composer Erik Satie, known for works such as Gymnopédies.

Marked “Lent et grave” (slow and solemn), this piece is particularly introspective among the three, suffused with a quiet, ceremonial atmosphere.

It is also known for being the first of the three to be published, in November of the same year, and later gained further recognition through an orchestral arrangement by Claude Debussy.

Its deep, gentle sonorities are soothing to the mind, making it ideal as background music when you want to concentrate in a quiet setting—studying, reading, or working at your desk for long periods.

Penultimate Thought, No. 1: PastoralErik Satie21rank/position

Erik Satie ~1915~ Avant-Dernières Pensées

Erik Satie’s suite Avant-dernières pensées, composed in 1915.

Its first piece is a piano miniature born in wartime Paris.

While a four-note motif in the left hand is obsessively repeated, the right-hand melody flows quietly—an arresting structure whose sound, contrary to the pastoral title, is ironically restrained and introspective.

Officially premiered in Paris in May 1916, the work was dedicated to Debussy.

It distills Satie’s distinctive idiom grounded in repetition and simplicity, offering a static beauty that seems to anticipate later minimalism.

Why not listen when you wish to surrender to unhurried time and calm the mind?