Satie addressed his own aging with a characteristic blend of irony and conviction. In a 1922 lecture he referred to his Premier Menuet (1920) as "written when I was still quite young - 54 years old." See http://www.musicalobservations.com/publications/satie.html. Paul Zukofsky, "Satie Notes" (2011), revised text of program notes for the 1991 Summergarden Concert Series of the Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
thefrogweb.wordpress.com
This "mission statement" by Satie prefaced the initial set L’Enfance de Ko-Quo which he withheld from publication, but is germane to the whole series. He typically followed it with a whimsical joke: "They have won me congratulations from the Shah of Persia and the King of Yvetot." See http://thefrogweb.wordpress.com/2010/04/18/satie1/ Robert Orledge, "Erik Satie – L’Enfance de Ko-Quo (Recommendations maternelles)", part of the article "Erik Satie: Autour des Nocturnes" posted on The Frogweb April 18, 2010.
ucsb.edu
music.ucsb.edu
Dr. Julianne Lindberg, abstract of lecture "Pedagogy, Play, and 'the pianist's reward': Erik Satie's Piano Albums for Children", delivered at University of California, Santa Barbara, January 16, 2010. http://www.music.ucsb.edu/projects/musicwrittenword/panel20th.html