Executing Erik Satie’s piano composition Vexations, with its demanding 840 iterations, is a remarkable feat; however, neither Igor Levit nor Ruth Davis was the pioneer in this endeavor in the UK (‘It is trance-like’: pianist Igor Levit performs Erik Satie’s Vexations 840 times, 24 April).

On October 10, 1967, Richard Toop executed the performance at the Arts Lab located in Drury Lane, London. He recounted this experience to Gavin Bryars, which was subsequently published in Contact magazine in 1983 and later referenced in David Curtis’s 2020 book, London’s Arts Labs and the 60s Avant-Garde.

“Three memorable aspects of the performance stick out in my mind,” Toop shared with Bryars. “Firstly, the piano was set up in the outer foyer amid an art exhibition, transforming the music into a bona fide musique d’ameublement. Attendees casually walked around the piano, conversing, and occasionally pausing to listen … Secondly, I distinctly recall a gentleman from the Times kneeling beside me as I played … not even Rubinstein received such bowing treatment.

“The third element was less fortunate; after approximately 16 hours, I requested some form of mild stimulant in addition to the strong coffee I had been consuming … what actually materialized was a cup of coffee that—much to my later dismay—contained an entire phial of methedrine [methamphetamine].

“The result was astounding: my weary eyelids shot up like something out of a Tom and Jerry cartoon … The issue was that my field of vision became completely unyielding; each time I reached the end of a page, I had to lift my head to recalibrate my focus onto the start of the new page.”
Biddy Peppin
Castle Cary, Somerset

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