 thumb|vexations piano sheet vexations is a musical work by erik satie. apparently conceived for keyboard (though the single page of manuscript does not specify an instrument), it consists of a short theme in the bass whose four presentations are heard alternatingly unaccompanied and played with chords above. the theme and its accompanying chords are written using strikingly eccentric and impractical enharmonic notation. the piece is undated, but scholars usually assign a date around 1893 on the basis of musical and biographical evidence. the piece bears the inscription "in order to play the theme 840 times in succession, it would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand, and in the deepest silence, by serious immobilities" (pour se jouer 840 fois de suite ce motif, il sera bon de se prÃ©parer au prÃ©alable, et dans le plus grand silence, par des immobilitÃ©s sÃ©rieuses). from the 1960s onward, this text has mostly been interpreted as an instruction that the page of music should be played 840 times,tyranny, "blue gene" (2008). [ vexations review], allmusic. retrieved june 21, 2008."pianoless vexations (erik satie)", ubuweb.com. retrieve june 21, 2008. though this may not have been satie's intention. == publication == satie did not publish the work in his lifetime, and is not known ever to have performed or mentioned it. the piece was first printed in 1949 (in facsimile form, by john cage in contrepoints nÂ°6). the first american publication of the piece was in art news annual, vol. 27 (1958), again in facsimile. the first english publication was as an engraved example in an article by peter dickinson in music review, vol. 28 (1967). in 1969 the publisher Ãditions max eschig produced the first commercial edition of the work, placing it second in a collection of three so-called "pages mystiques". since there is no musicological evidence linking vexations to the other works in the volume, its appearance in that context indicates nothing more than an editor's desire to publish satie's uncollected compositions in three-part assemblages like the gymnopedies, gnossiennes, etc. == first public performance == vexations appears to have had no performance history before the idea gained ground that the piece was required to be played 840 times. the first of the 'marathon' performances of the work in this way was produced by john cage and lewis lloyd at the pocket theatre in manhattan by the pocket theatre piano relay team, organized by cage. pianists included: john cage, david tudor, christian wolff, philip corner, viola farber, robert wood, macrae cook, john cale, david del tredici, [[james
Compositions_by_Erik_Satie Minimalistic_compositions Solo_piano_pieces