Éric Alfred Leslie Satie was a mid-19th to early 20th century French pianist, composer, and writer. He is best known for his piano music, particularly his Trois Gymnopédies and Six Gnossiennes.

Satie’s legacy is one of eccentricity. Before he released the Trois Gymnopédies, he named himself a “gymnopedist,” a term which he derived from an ancient Spartan festival of dance. He was known for his short temper, often flying off the handle and even landing himself in jail over a disagreement with a music critic. In his early years, he founded his own religion, L'Église Métropolitaine d'Art de Jésus Conducteur or the Metropolitan Church of Art of Jesus the Conductor, of which he was the only member. Though he tried to spread the religion with his writings, it only served to tarnish his reputation with the public. Over the course of his 27-year residence in Arcueil, no one ever entered his room.

As a youth, Satie’s music teachers at the Conservatoire de Paris shunned him for being lazy and unskilled, and his adult compositions like the Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes were largely overlooked. It wasn’t until he began writing humorous pieces later in life that he received some public attention, but even that was short-lived. Widespread appreciation for Satie came only after his death, as many now consider him a musical genius whose avant-garde compositions stood in sharp contrast to those of his contemporaries.