Cold Pieces

Cold Pieces

Plaque above the entrance in Rue Cortot Nr. 6, in Montmartre Listen to my new podcast about Erik Satie, cold rooms and warm languages, the benefit of a schedule, and the joy of amateur piano playing.  See the scr…

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Vocabulary of Love

Vocabulary of Love

Drawing of Susanne Valadon by Erik Satie, 1983 Veux and voeux . This new episode on piano, The Vocabulary of Love , is all about wants and wishes.  From chocolat ,  Liebesfrühling , to the romance of t…

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Walter Benjamin & Georges Simenon & Josephine Baker

Walter Benjamin & Georges Simenon & Josephine Baker

Leafing once more through Walter Benjamin. A Critical Life I come upon Benjamin's daily routine while he was living in Ibiza in the summer of 1932. I was surprised to see that he finished his days by…

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Kabberdoeskje

Kabberdoeskje

This week I discovered that  René Magritte was a funny guy. Here a few examples that of his wit in his Écrits Complets , his collected writings:  “Do you think much about death?” the interviewer asked …

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Hitomi Usui

Hitomi Usui

There is a surprise in the artist book that Hitomi Usui sends me from Japan. She has included the goodbye poem that I wrote for her, my then neighbour at the HIAP residency in Helsinki. To be more precise…

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SAD SELLS

SAD SELLS

Last week I had to compensate for A having a good time in New York City, full of excitement and VIPs. So I watched The Andy Warhol Diaries on Netflix. For inspiration, as I myself have been planning a p…

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Three Pieces of Pear

Three Pieces of Pear

I have by now a proper library on Erik Satie. My latest purchases are the books by Ornella Volta: “Satie Seen Through His Letters”, “Satie / Cocteau. Eine Verständigung in Mißverständnissen” and “Erik Sat…

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This & That

This & That

In the local coffee shop Pausini I have a chat with the barista. Turns out she was born in Alt-Tempelhof, went to school here, left the neighbourhood only shortly for a stay in Pankow and some work in Pre…

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