Composer protested after changing direction ultimately (5)
I believe the answer is:
satie
'composer' is the definition.
(French composer Erik Satie)
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for satie that I've seen before include "French avant-garde composer, Erik, d. 1925" , "posed by yours truly close to stage" , "French composer (Trois Gymnopedies)" , "Erik -, nineteenth to twentieth century French composer" , "scorer" .)