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{{short description|Composition by Erik Satie}}
{{italic title}}
{{About|the Erik Satie composition|the Annelyse Gelman book|Vexations (poetry collection)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
[[File:Santiago_Rusinol_Portrait_of_Eric_Satie_at_the_harmonium.jpg|alt=Man in top hat, smoking a cigarette, seated at a musical keyboard|thumb|Composer [[Erik Satie]] by [[Santiago Rusiñol]], 1890s]]
'''''Vexations''''' is a musical work by [[Erik Satie]]. Apparently conceived for keyboard (although 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 [[enharmonic]] notation. The piece is undated, but scholars usually assign a date around 1893–1894 on the basis of musical and biographical evidence.

The piece bears the inscription "In order to play the motif 840 times in succession, it would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand, and in the deepest silence, by serious immobilities." ("{{lang|fr|Pour se jouer 840 fois de suite ce motif, il sera bon de se préparer au préalable, et dans le plus grand silence, par des immobilités sérieuses.}}") From the 1960s onward, this text has mostly been interpreted as an instruction that the page of music should be played 840 times,<ref>{{AllMusic|class=composition|author="Blue" Gene Tyranny|id=c550114|title=Eric Satie: ''Vexations'', for piano}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ubu.com/sound/vexations.html "Pianoless Vexations (Erik Satie)"], UbuWeb.com. Retrieved 21 June 2008.</ref> although 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'' No. 6). The first American publication of the piece was in ''Art News Annual'', vol. 27 (1958), again in facsimile. The first British publication was as an engraved example in an article by Peter Dickinson in ''Music Review'', vol. 28 (1967). In 1969 the publisher [[Max Eschig|Éditions 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 such as the ''[[Gymnopédies]]'', ''[[Gnossiennes]]'', etc.

== First public performance ==<!-- This section is linked from [[John Cale]] -->

''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 on 9 September 1963, produced by [[John Cage]] and Lewis Lloyd at the Pocket Theatre at 100 [[Third Avenue]] in Manhattan by the Pocket Theatre Piano Relay Team, organized by Cage. Pianists included Cage, [[David Tudor]], [[Christian Wolff (composer)|Christian Wolff]], [[Philip Corner]], [[Viola Farber]], Robert Wood, MacRae Cook, [[John Cale]], [[David Del Tredici]], [[James Tenney]], [[Howard Klein (music critic)|Howard Klein]] (the ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' reviewer, who was asked to play in the course of the event) and [[Joshua Rifkin]], with two reserves. Cage set the admission price at $5 and had a time clock installed in the lobby of the theatre. Each patron checked in with the clock and when leaving the concert, checked out again and received a refund of 5¢ for each 20 minutes attended. "In this way", he told Lloyd, "people will understand that the more art you consume, the less it should cost." But Cage had underestimated the length of time the concert would take. It lasted over 18 hours. One person, an actor with [[The Living Theatre]], Karl Schenzer, was present for the entire performance.<ref>[[Harold C. Schonberg|Schonberg, Harold]]. "A Long, Long Night (and Day) at the Piano; Satie's ''Vexations'' Played 840 Times by Relay Team", ''[[The New York Times]]'', 11 September 1963: p. 45</ref>

== Meaning ==
{{Original research section|date=October 2008}}
[[File:Vexations erik satie piano sheet.jpeg|thumb|upright=1.5|''Vexations'' piano score]]Satie never explained the piece's title. Conjectures regarding the meaning of ''Vexations'' (and its title) were construed long after Satie's death and in most cases, supported by little evidence.

* The notation of the chords makes extensive use of [[enharmonic]] spellings, making it difficult to read immediately.<ref name=Centenary>[https://www.academia.edu/171971/Serious_Immobilities_On_the_Centenary_of_Erik_Saties_Vexations Serious Immobilities: On the Centenary of Erik Satie's Vexations]</ref>
* ''Vexations'' could be interpreted as Satie's coming to terms with [[Wagner controversies|Wagnerism]]. In this interpretation, ''Vexations'' would be Satie's ironic act of defiance. He could outdo music as lengthy and intense as Wagner's {{lang|de|[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]}}, using only the limited resources available to him; hence [[Gavin Bryars]]' description of it as 'a sort of Ring des Nibelungen des pauvres' ("poor man's {{lang|de|Ring of the Nibelungen}}").<ref>Bryars, Gavin: Vexations and its Performers, Contact No. 26, Spring 1983</ref> ''Vexations'' can also be seen as an attack on – or a [[parody|parodic]] emulation of – what in Wagnerian music is known as the "[[unendliche Melodie]]" (unending melody), in which melody is supported by a continuously modulating [[chord progression|progression]] of complex chords. In mood and compositional technique this brings ''Vexations'' near to the – certainly mocking – {{lang|fr|Choral inappétissant}} ("unsavoury Choral"), the first (introductory) piece of {{lang|fr|[[Sports et divertissements]]}}, which he composed more than 20 years later, after he had studied conventional [[counterpoint]] for several years.
* ''Vexations'' was written in a period when Satie's approach to harmony was related rather to a [[Musical mode|modal]] line of thought than to conventional [[harmony]]. Harmonically, ''Vexations'' appears to be an exercise in [[Tritone#Resolution|non-resolving tritones]]. Maybe Satie's intent was nothing more than to prove that any harmonic and [[rhythm]]ic system was only a matter of habit for the hearer (and not resulting from innate or divine preconception, as his contemporaries would think): so that after listening 840 times to a chordal system that is at odds with any habitual one, and set in an odd metre, one would possibly start to experience this new system to be as natural as any other – an experiment he was likely to have taken seriously, and maybe directly or indirectly influenced [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]] and/or [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]].
* Although the date of composition is uncertain, ''Vexations'' appears to have been composed shortly after a brief, but intense, affair with [[Suzanne Valadon]], the nearest Satie ever got to a relationship with a woman, as far as is known. One of the testaments to this relationship is Satie's optimistic composition {{lang|fr|Bonjour Biqui}} (April 1893), {{lang|fr|Biqui}} being a nickname for his beloved, and the composition being an echo of how Satie customarily greeted her. it can be conjectured that Satie – being "{{lang|fr|vexé}}" ("angry", or even "spiteful") about being rejected by his "Biqui"—wanted to disenchant himself from what she had meant to him, by composing a piece that would help him forget all such frivolous feelings.<ref name=Centenary />
* It is also possible that Satie was spoofing the ''[[perpetuum mobile]]'' genre: many 19th-century composers had composed such separate pieces, then very popular, with an 'indefinite' number of repeats, mostly leaning on dextrous virtuosity. References like "immobilities", a definite (but disproportionately high) number of repeats, an unconventional harmony, and a "very slow" tempo, instead of the usual very rapid one of a ''perpetuum mobile'', all might indicate that Satie was making a parody of this genre, spiting the cheap effects of content-less virtuosity in an uninspired harmonic and rhythmical scheme, that his contemporaries would use to suggest "rapture" to their public.
* The deeply rooted idea (from its first publication on) that ''Vexations'' might have been intended by Satie as an experiment regarding boredom appears to find little support in the ideas expressed by Satie himself, although he described boredom as 'profound and mysterious'.<ref name=Centenary />
* Other anachronistic explanations involve [[Dada]]ism (which was only invented by the end of the 2nd decade of the 20th century); {{lang|fr|[[Furniture music|Musique d'ameublement]]}} (also not before the end of the 2nd decade of the 20th century, at which time Satie described it as a novelty); [[conceptual art]] (not before the 1960s); etc. Satie is often described as a precursor, or in the spirit of [[Oulipo]], an 'anticipatory plagiarist' of subsequent developments.<ref name=Centenary />
* Why Satie chose 840 as the number of repetitions has also been subject to conjecture: there is no conclusive evidence showing why he would have preferred this number to any other. The fact that 840 is the [[Product (mathematics)|product]] of the numbers from 4 to 7 does not shed much additional light on the meaning that the number 840 might have had to Satie, though the [[Western esotericism|esoteric]] [[sect]]s or [[cult]]s Satie had been involved in up till the moment that he wrote ''Vexations'' could be supposed to have some interest in [[numerology]]. When Satie started his own sect, the [[Metropolitan Church of Art of Jesus the Conductor]], supposedly around the same time as composing ''Vexations'', he appeared sure in his use of numbers (e.g. in the printed pamphlet listing the numbers of each type of adherent the sect was to have acquired, some of these numbers going back to [[biblical]] data). An article by Martha Curti (now Mother Felicitas) on the numerology of 840 may shed more light on the subject.<ref>[http://the-open-space.org/New/Vexations_Phil_Corner.pdf Philip Corner: Prelude to a non-vexation]</ref>

The composition could be seen in a tradition of "riddle music", somewhere between the [[riddle canon]]s of [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]]'s ''[[The Musical Offering]]'' and [[Edward Elgar|Elgar]]'s ''[[Enigma Variations]]''.

== Execution ==
{{Original research section|date=August 2015}}
There is no indication that Satie intended the ''Vexations'' for public performance – the introductory text he wrote, as quoted above, rather indicating it was intended as a one-person experience (e.g. as a restrained way to work off anger, or to get one's ears tuned to an unconventional harmonic system and [[metre (music)|metre]]). Satie made no effort to get either "Vexations" or "Bonjour Biqui" published during his life, scarcely, or not at all, communicating about their existence (there were more of his compositions sharing this fate).

As to the total duration of the work, and whether it is to be played aloud or silently, it is hard to ascertain what Satie's intentions were:
* No [[metronome|metronomical]] [[tempo]] indication: the score mentions "Très lent" (very slow), which could mean anything while the composition has not a melody that could be experienced as falling in one or another "natural" cadence – at least not at first sight: some (e.g. the pianist Armin Fuchs, who executed the work in its entirety several times) argue there is a natural cadence nonetheless (26 quarter-note beats per minute in Fuchs' case, which extends total execution to 28 hours)<ref>Kopiez, Reinhard: "Die performance von Erik Saties ''Vexations'' aus Pianistensicht". In: ''Musikwissenschaft zwischen Kunst, Asthetik und Experiment''. [[Festschrift]] für Helge de la Motte-Haber zum 60. Geburtstag, Würzburg, 1999, pp. 303–311.</ref>
* It is not clear whether Satie intended the bass-line (equal to both halves of the composition) to be repeated in between of {{em|every}} half vexation: his precise instruction is "{{lang|fr|À ce signe il sera d'usage de présenter le thème de la Basse}}" – "At this sign customarily the theme of the Bass will be presented" (the "sign" occurring in between of every half vexation): {{lang|fr|être d'usage}} not really being an obligation. There is more to be said about this sign: modern executions and editions of the score usually interpret that for every Vexation the {{lang|fr|thème de la Basse}} is to be played twice, while the original manuscript of Satie indicates the "sign" for playing this theme three times: once preceding (and quite above) the "motif", and once after every half of the "motif", which seems to indicate that the {{lang|fr|thème de la Basse}} has to be played before the "motif" is played the first time (which is usually done), but also that it is the {{lang|fr|thème de la Basse}} concluding the complete cycle (and not the 840th pass of the second half of the motif, as it is usually interpreted). This would extend the total execution time with about half a minute.
* Even the 840 repeats have been questioned, for several reasons: in a "[[Mantra]]" or "habituation" approach there is not much sense in counting exactly how many times one repeats the "motif" to oneself. Also the indication Satie gives does not implicate it is mandatory to repeat 840 times: it is only a remark about the kind of preparation that is needed in the event that one wants to play it 840 times consecutively to oneself. There is no certainty Satie ever played the ''Vexations'' (or knew them executed), either with or without repeats (probably neither, because in the course of such action it probably would have emerged that the A on the 6th beat of the second half of the motif needs an [[Accidental (music)|accidental]] one way or another: either a pitch-changing accidental, like for the A's immediately before – beat 2 – or after – beat 8 – this A, either a [[natural sign|natural]], to make the middle melody of the second half of the motif identical to the high-pitch melody of the first half). Probably in most performances the imaginary natural is played. Likewise, the bass C on the sixth quarter-note and the bass B on the second half of the ninth quarter-note require (presumably) naturals; the E on the fifth quarter-note is provided with a natural in the inverted version, but not in the original version. The score also presents us with two other fairly fundamental questions: (1) Why is there one diminished fourth (later inverted to an augmented fifth) among the tritones? and (2) Is the tied eighth-note chord at the end intended as a repetition of the previous chord (which requires an inconsistent interpretation of accidentals that would treat the C as a C-sharp) or does the C-sharp revert to a C (in which case the whole thing would end on a C major chord)?
* No indication whatsoever regarding at what volume it has to be played.
* It is not clear whether exactly the same speed and volume for every repetition is advised: in the "vexation"-anger comparison mentioned above, it would not be impossible to imagine moods (expressed by tempo and volume, and additional expression by means of [[arpeggio]], [[rubato]], and the like) swinging from "rage" to "dejection", and everything in between, all along the same sitting, in a sort of "[[Etudes d'execution transcendante]]"-style – while obviously the standard interpretation, which is a monotonous execution (keeping to the same [[tempo]] and volume) throughout, maximally avoiding romantic implication, is more than arguably correct too.
* While the bass-note ending the motif is a major third above the first bass-note of the motif, even an execution with a modulating progression for every repeat would not be unthinkable: Satie nowhere indicates that the "motif" (which is by definition a musical entity ''not'' tied to a particular key) or the "bass theme" is to be executed at the same pitch every time.
Cage's own intervallic analysis made for the first performance is in Lloyd's collection at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University along with the performers' time keeper sheets from that concert.

Although there is no unambiguous indication that the ''Vexations'' should be played on the [[Pianoforte|piano]] – an execution on another keyboard instrument, like the then popular [[Pump organ|harmonium]], not being impossible – there is little doubt that this is the intended instrument.

[[Ornella Volta]] (from the Archives Erik Satie in Paris) has been preparing a dossier with several studies regarding this work and its executions. This dossier, which has not been published, is intended to contain a full analysis and a facsimile reproduction of the original score.

The musicologist [[Richard Toop]] as a young pianist gave the first complete performance by a single pianist in 1967.<ref name=Sweet />

Not all attempted performances of this work have been successful. In 1970, Australian pianist Peter Evans decided to abandon a solo performance of the piece after 595 repetitions because he felt that "evil thoughts" were overtaking him and observed "strange creatures emerging from the sheet music".<ref name=Sweet>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/a-dangerous-and-evil-piano-piece |title=A Dangerous and Evil Piano Piece |last=Sweet |first=Sam |date=9 September 2013|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|access-date=21 October 2013}}</ref>

The team at [[MakerBot Industries]] has programmed one of their [[robots]] to perform ''Vexations''. It was performed for the public for the first time at a 2010 New York City [[Maker Faire]]. The performance was based on the one by Armin Fuchs in Dresden in 2000.<ref>[http://blog.makerbot.com/2010/10/12/3d-printer-plays-music/ 3D Printer Plays Music], Makerbot Industries. Retrieved 14 October 2010.</ref>

On 12 December 2012, French pianist [[Nicolas Horvath]] performed in the [[Palais de Tokyo]] a non-stop solo version lasting 35 hours.<ref>[http://www.palaisdetokyo.com/fr/musique/concerts/les-vexations-derik-satie-recital-marathon Les Vexations d'Erik Satie : récital marathon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112213927/http://www.palaisdetokyo.com/fr/musique/concerts/les-vexations-derik-satie-recital-marathon |date=12 November 2013 }}, Palais de Tokyo. 12 December 2012 12&nbsp;am – 13 December 2012 11&nbsp;pm.</ref>

In September 2016, during the three days of the sci-tech Trieste Next<ref>[http://www.triestenext.it/ Trieste Next 2016]</ref> festival, the pianist and multimedia artist Adriano Castaldini performed an open-air solo of the entire ''Vexations'', conceiving a very new way of interpreting the piece, i.e. making ''audible'' the psycho-physical experience of vexation by connecting his body to the live electronic processing of the piano sound: during the performance, the pianist wore a sensor system (EEG, EMG, GSR and temperature sensors) not simply for medical feedback, but to process medical data in real time using a software (coded by Castaldini himself) that turned data into control values for the piano sound live processing (the sound was captured by seven microphones inside the piano).<ref>[http://www.triestenext.it/vexations-la-serie-performance-multimodale-interattiva-pianoforte-ed-elettronica/ Vexations: La Serie, Performance multimodale e interattiva per pianoforte ed elettronica]</ref><ref>[http://ilpiccolo.gelocal.it/tempo-libero/2016/09/22/news/le-vessazioni-del-pianista-si-trasformano-in-suono-1.14136984?refresh_ce Le ''vessazioni'' del pianista si trasformano in suono] (Il Piccolo, 22 settembre 2016)</ref>

In 2017 [[Alessandro Deljavan]] performed the 840 repetitions of the theme, plus one slowed-down final theme, using a digital visual metronome to maintain perfect timing throughout the entire performance. He recorded the entire performance inside the [[OnClassical]] recording studio. That resulted in a twelve-albums collection, 14,5+ hours long, 841 tracks, which gained over 10 millions listenings on [[Spotify]].<ref>[https://open.spotify.com/playlist/72Y3Dv32qHtlsCi2I2xpDA?si=3f48254e6a244dde (Complete) Vexations!] spotify.com<!--(841 Vexations as played/recorded by Alessandro Deljavan in 2017)--></ref>

On 2 December 2017, alt-classical concert series ChamberLab hosted a marathon performance of ''Vexations'' as a fundraiser for the [[American Civil Liberties Union]], and raised almost $17,000 in pledges and donations. The event was open to all musicians, and 34 participated throughout the day at the [[Hotel Congress]] in [[Tucson, Arizona]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Burch |first=Cathalena E. |date= 8 December 2017 |title='Vexations' marathon raises nearly $17k for ACLU |url=http://tucson.com/entertainment/music/vexations-marathon-raises-nearly-k-for-aclu/article_0a7b0789-a900-50d1-b034-02d78b65f71d.html |work=Arizona Daily Star |location=Tucson, Arizona |access-date=20 February 2018 }}</ref>

On 30 May 2020, [[Igor Levit]] performed all 840 repetitions of ''Vexations'' at the B-sharp Studio, Berlin. The performance streamed on Periscope, Twitter and other platforms, including on ''[[The New Yorker]]''{{'}}s website. Levit said the recital was in response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], his reaction to which he characterised as a "silent scream" ("{{lang|de|stumme Schrei}}").<ref>{{cite tweet |user=@igorpianist |number=1266700170583916544 |date=30 May 2020 |title= Eric Satie ''Vexations'' Live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Live Stream: A Pianist's Marathon of ''Vexations''|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/video-dept/live-stream-a-pianists-marathon-of-vexations|last=Ross|first=Alex|author-link=Alex Ross (music critic)|date=30 May 2020|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref> The 840 sheets of music were sold individually to assist out-of-work musicians.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Connolly|first=Kate|date=30 May 2020|title=Igor Levit to play 20-hour Eric Satie piece as 'silent scream'|work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/may/30/igor-levit-to-play-20-hour-eric-satie-piece-as-silent-scream|access-date=31 May 2020}}</ref>

From 29 to 30 January 2021, Bot_pianist.ver, a robot made by ATOD, performed all 840 repetitions of ''Vexations'' for 19 hours 30 minutes at Platform-L Contemporary Art Center in Seoul. It was a part of [[Furniture Music]] in the 4th Industrial Revolution Era: a convergence of an exhibition and performance; a reconstruction of Satie's ''Vexations'' conducted by PyoungRyang Ko. This work was a part of the Art & Tech Project by Arts Council Korea (ARKO) and Hanyang Industry-university Cooperation Foundation. The convergence of the exhibition and the performance was streamed on YouTube.<ref>{{YouTube|y88X4BaTTVM|Part I}}, {{YouTube|25sThKBFv4U|Part II}}; Part II includes some interactivity of the audiences: {{YouTube|time=27083|id=25sThKBFv4U|title=Example 1}}, {{YouTube|time=34449|id=25sThKBFv4U|title=Example 2}}; {{YouTube|time=32670|id=25sThKBFv4U|title=Human players (pianist So Young Choi and six violists of Violissimo (Junseo Yi, Bin Ko, Minah Song, Haneuli Park, Yuri Song, Shinae Aa Sung) performed the complete sets of Satie's furniture music after the 840th repetition while Bot_pianist.ver is still playing ''Vexations''.}}</ref>

On 3 February 2021, 12 players and composers performed at the Hall of Halls, the music box museum in Kiyosato at the southern foot of the Yatsugatake Mountains, Japan. The performers were Mana Fukui, Wataru Iwata, Masakazu Yamamoto, KaoLi, Taro Yoshihara, Keitaro Yamaguchi, Kazuya Saegusa, Sachiko Kawano, Mamoru Yamamoto, Satoka Yokoyama, Shunichi Komatsubara, and Ayumi Satake. Instruments used were piano, French horn, trumpet, cello, double bass, key harmonica, voice, organetta (street organ), organite (hand-cranked music box).<ref>{{Vimeo|511031380|3 February 2021}}</ref>

On 13 August 2021, American pianist Aaron D. Smith performed a non-stop solo version lasting 36 hours and 22 minutes in Salt Lake City's [[Sugar House, Salt Lake City|Sugar House neighborhood]]. It is known to be the longest non-stop solo piano version ever performed.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cook|first=Indigo|date=19 August 2021|title=Erik Satie's ''Vexations''|url=https://www.saltlakemagazine.com/calendar/erik-saties-vexations/|access-date=19 August 2021|website=Salt Lake Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Hanson|first=Samuel|date=4 October 2021|title=October Digest: New work and new ways of seeing|url=http://lovedancemore.org/digest|website=Love Dance More}}</ref> This performance was conducted alongside six dancers in conjunction with the Interdisciplinary Arts Collective.

On 30 September 2023, a performance of “Vexations: a mantra for Kyiv” ("Vexations: mantra dla Kijowa") was held in [[Kraków]] as part of the Music in Old Balice festival (since 2024 Silence Music Festival), to which both Krakow Mayor [[Jacek Majchrowski]] and [[Kyiv]] Mayor [[Vitali Klitschko]] were invited. It was repeated 840 times by 30 pianists, which took about 35 hours of continuous playing. The performance took place at the [[Kino Kijów|“Kyiv” Cinema]] in Krakow (live) and at the Kyiv Cultural Cluster “Krakow” in Kyiv (thanks to the latest technologies enabling the creation of pararel reality through StreamArt by UKRAiNATV without the physical participation of the artists). As its creators Mateusz Zubik i [[Miłosz Horodyski]] announced, it was a reflection on the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|war in Ukraine]] and an expression of solidarity with the nation fighting for freedom.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SILENCE Music Festival |url=https://silencemusicfestival.pl/edycja-x |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=SILENCE |language=en-US}}</ref>

On 17–18 February 2024, Japanese artist Ai Onoda performed a non-stop solo of ''Vexations'' at the Yamagoya gallery and shop in Ebisu, Tokyo.<ref>{{Cite web |last=gallery and shop 山小屋 |title="「Vexations」（Erik Satie） −小野田藍によるピアノの演奏" |url=https://galleryyamagoya.com/2024/vexationserik-satie/}}</ref> Onoda repeated it 840 times according to the score, playing from 11am on 17th to around 7am on 18th. He wore a diaper, and drank water and ate snacks while playing with only his left hand. He prepared 840 copies of the score, and dropped each page on the floor as he finished them.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kawauchi |first=Ario |title=くらしナビ プロムナード 川内有緒「深夜の奇妙な演奏会」 |work=The Nikkei}}</ref> Onoda used Rhodes Mark-II Stage Piano 54 for this performance. Japanese archivist Yosuke Nakagawa recorded and documented it.

In October 2025, ''Vexations'' was performed at the historic St Pancras Clock Tower, organized by [[ASLSP|Francesco Pio Gennarelli]] and Matthew Lee Knowles. The performance featured pianists Francesco Pio Gennarelli, Matthew Lee Knowles, Jelena Makarova, Neil Georgeson, Aidan Chan, Edward Tait, Xuanxin Chen, Ben Smith, and Thomas Ang (9 pianist). The event began at 10:00 am on October 17 and concluded at 2:00 am on October 19, lasting a total of '''40 hours, 16 minutes, and 50 seconds'''. The concert was held in aid of '''Help Musicians''', with an initial fundraising goal of '''£840'''. Through public donations the project successfully raised '''£940''', surpassing its target.

a recording is available on youtube,<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lb0o6jYvvE |title=Part 1 world record Vexation 40 hours concert |date=2025-10-20 |last=francesco pio |access-date=2025-10-20 |via=YouTube}}</ref> more information about the project available on this [https://projectvexation.github.io/40hour/ website]

== Sources ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{YouTube|cj-HVxraqFo|Documentary about Erik Satie's Vexations performance at the Guggenheim Museum in 2017}}
* [https://www.academia.edu/13301030/Erik_Satie_Vexations_score Erik Satie: ''Vexations'' (score)]. New version of the score by [[Stephen Whittington]]. Accidentals only apply to the notes that immediately follow. Cautionary accidentals are used in cases of possible ambiguity.<!--
* {{YouTube|ov0fOVqqcyo|The composer Michael Nyman playing some repetitions at a recitation in London's Tate Modern in 2007}}
* {{YouTube|nF3UVyCL1Ak|The composer Gavin Bryars playing some repetitions at a recitation in London's Tate Modern in 2007}}-->
* Orledge, Robert: {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301050957/http://www.satie-archives.com/web/articl11.html |date=1 March 2014|title=Understanding Satie's ''Vexations''}}, satie-archives.com<!-- – This article includes an elaborate analysis of the ''Vexations'' compositional system, a facsimile and transcription of the ''Bonjour Biqui'' composition, etc.-->
* [http://musicweb.hmt-hannover.de/satie/ ''Vexations'' recording homepage] [[Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover]]<!--, containing, among other interesting topics, a life recorded [[MIDI]]-version of the ''Vexations'', and the [[Electroencephalogram|EEG]] of the pianist [[Armin Fuchs]] during the 28 hours he played them, leading to the conclusion that a [[altered state of consciousness|trance]] cannot be avoided when keeping scrupulously to Satie's instructions.-->
* {{YouTube|TYHIqMmtS-0|John Cale speaking about and performing ''Vexations''}}

{{Erik Satie}}
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[[Category:Compositions by Erik Satie]]
[[Category:Minimalistic compositions]]
[[Category:Compositions for solo piano]]