"Un temps très vieux"

« An Aliquot baby grand piano defines the music room on the ground floor of the Villa van Buuren. The instrument, a Blüthner (a manufacturer based in Leipzig since 1853, with a branch in London from 1876), was adapted to the surrounding Art Deco furniture by adding polished mahogany legs and a matching stool made by Maison Dominique. According to information published on the website of the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (IRPA), the piano, purchased by the couple in 1924, is dated January 26, 1922, based on an inscription molded into the soundboard. Additionally, it bears the plaque of Belgian piano makers De Lil & Fils, whose workshop was located at 101 Rue Théodore Verhaegen in Saint Gilles from 1885 until its bankruptcy in 2019; it is possible that the van Buurens purchased it from their store. The piano is believed to have once belonged to Erik Satie (1866-1925), “a medieval musician, gently lost in this century”, who, according to Françoise Lechien-Durant [Curator of the van Buuren Museum & Gardens between 1990 and 1999], might have “forgotten” it at Blüthner during a repair. Unfortunately, the museum archives consulted provide no further clarification on this matter. The provenance and origins of the piano in connection with the French composer remain challenging to establish: on the one hand, during the last 27 years of his life, Satie rarely left his room in the so-called “Four Chimneys” house at 22 Rue Cauchy (now 34) in Arcueil Cachan, traveling very little . On the other hand, Satie lived in severe poverty, with his room lacking any basic amenities such as water, gas lighting, a kitchen, or heating. Upon his death, his grieving friends discovered an “inextricable jumble” of belongings in his residence, including two completely out-of-tune pianos tied together . While it seems improbable that Satie owned a Blüthner between 1922 and 1924, it is not entirely implausible that he might have played it at some point during one of his concerts. Similarly, while no written correspondence exists between Erik Satie and the van Buuren couple, it is not impossible that they met. Satie visited Brussels twice for concerts and lectures, following invitations from Paul Collaer (1891-1989). » Mathias C. Pfund Handout (EN/FR/NL) https://mathiaspfund.ch/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Handout-Erik-Satie_ENFRNL.pdf List of works: « Un temps très vieux », Mathias C. Pfund, 2024 papier-mâché bust of Erik Satie after his calligraphic studies playing a chord in A minor, 16 x 32 x 12 cm For Belgian Friends, Mathias C. Pfund, 2024 Selection of reproduced documents on a Leslie Clan tartan, 135 x 22 x 0.5 cm