Shortly before the end of 2025, on December 23, Georges Aperghis turned 80, completing over fifty years of continuous presence, contribution, and creation in the musical life of France and beyond. To mark this anniversary, the Union of Greek Composers (UGC) presents a special tribute accompanied by a workshop dedicated to music theatre. The event culminates in a final concert at PLYFA on Friday, May 28 (PLYFA, Koritsas 39, Votanikos), during which the UGC will declare him Honorary President.
What characterizes Georges Aperghis more than anything else is the path he chose. He started very young here in Athens, taking lessons with G. A. Papaioannou, and these were his only systematic theoretical studies. Later in Paris, he studied Orchestra Conducting, initially planning to become a Conductor, but he abandoned this plan to fully dedicate himself to composition.
However, he was not self-taught. In the following discussion, he thoroughly explains the relationships he developed with a series of notable creators, such as Iannis Xenakis, showing him his works, receiving advice, and discussing. He never went to the Conservatoire and was not a student of Messiaen or Boulanger.
This unorthodox and idiosyncratic path brings us to today and the results we see. Another “French-trained” composer, George Kouroupos, has said that there are many paths to reach Paradise, but these do not suit everyone…
What is certain is that Aperghis found his own way and has consistently followed it to this day.
Constantine Lygnos
(Athens, May 12, 2026)
K. L. Time flies! It was fifteen years ago when you came to Greece for a presentation of your work at the Onassis Stegi. That interview was published in POLYTONON, the magazine of the Union of Greek Composers. I suppose you remember all that.
G. A. Of course, I remember. Among many other things, we had talked about my studies with G. A. Papaioannou, a composer who had made a great impression on me then and who agreed to help me enter the world of Contemporary Music through dodecaphony. As for the other Papaioannou – “Nanakos” – I knew him from childhood because he was a friend of my father’s. He showed me paintings I hadn’t seen until then and introduced me to Color Theory. Later, around 12 or 13, I had the opportunity to use scores from his library, which contained classical and contemporary works. We continued to see each other later, in Athens or at my home in Paris.
K. L. How did you choose Paris for your studies? I understand your parents played a role here.
G. A. My father loved France and Paris very much. I learned French from a young age, so Paris was a natural choice for me. The personalities of Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Boulez, and Xenakis were also a decisive factor. Initially, I wanted to study Orchestra Conducting with Pierre Dervaux, which I did for a short period. I was very interested in conducting, and I am very grateful to my teacher. Gradually, I began to compose, drawing inspiration from the rehearsals I was able to attend at Pierre Boulez’s Domaine Musical. There, I slowly discovered composers who later served as guides for me. That’s how I started my career as a composer and abandoned conducting.
K. L. It seems your parents encouraged you to pursue this artistic path. I say this because, at that time, it was very common for parents to be negative. The usual compromise was for children to be led or even forced to study something else “useful” in parallel.
G. A. My parents always had great understanding. They realized that school caused me a lot of stress. I wasn’t a very good student. On the other hand, I was truly enthusiastic about music and painting. They encouraged me to follow this creative path as if it were something natural. I am grateful to them for supporting this anti-conformist side of me in relation to society.
K. L. In our previous discussion, you spoke about how Paris was a “découverte” for you, a revelation. In this sense, formal and structured studies seem to be unimportant. Much more significant is contact with a cultural environment that clearly did not exist in Greece at the time, not even remotely.
G. A. Paris was a découverte when I decided not to attend composition classes but to meet composers directly, either by visiting them at their homes or by attending rehearsals of their pieces. This gave me direct access to the creative process without the intermediary of teachers. This way, I felt free to make my own choices.
My meeting with Iannis Xenakis was very important for me. I formed a student-teacher relationship with him, which allowed me to show him my scores, attend rehearsals of his pieces, see him work with musicians, and be very close to him for two years. I learned a great deal during that time. Afterwards, I had to find my own path.
But Paris was a découverte on a much broader level: cinema, theatre, literature, meetings with visual artists, etc., etc.
K. L. France, and more specifically Paris, was then (and still is) a destination for further musical studies. Other places include Austria and many cities in Germany. The ideological dominance of the German-speaking world was very strong at that time, and the avant-garde dominated everywhere. Did you ever feel there was any competition between these two areas?
G. A. I grew up listening mainly to German and Italian music rather than French. So it’s a bit paradoxical that I ended up in France! My connections with the German music scene developed later and became very important, as I had and still have many commissions from institutions and festivals in Austrian and German cities.
Personally, I never felt there was any competition between these two areas.
K. L. I would like to mention Bartók, whose music I know you have studied. He believed – and said so – that composition cannot be taught. He never taught, even when he faced serious financial difficulties in America.
G. A. Bartók is very important to me. I learned a great deal by analyzing his Quartets, something Xenakis advised me to do.
K. L. I’d like to return to Xenakis for a moment and how you gradually moved away from him.
G. A. We remained friends until the end. We saw each other often. But my artistic approach led me to a different aesthetic, different interests, and my own way of expression. We continued to discuss these things.
K. L. Would you like to say more? For a number of reasons, he is a person who sparks imagination and provokes interest.
G. A. He was a completely unique case, straddling Music, Mathematics, Ancient Tragedy, contemporary tragedy, and Philosophy. He was very “down-to-earth” and at the same time somewhere in his own world. Elusive. But that didn’t stop him from being very warm and friendly.
K. L. I’d like you to tell us something about May ’68. If I understand correctly, you believe that after the mid-70s, its influence began to weaken and fade.
G. A. The era before ’68 was indeed unprecedented, an opening towards an unparalleled artistic and ideological freedom. At that time, I didn’t have much time to think because everything was happening very quickly and was so new. I always believed – and perhaps I’m wrong – that May ’68 came faster than it should have in the overall crescendo of things!
Be that as it may, the ideas of ’68 continued to resonate with a part of society. Then, gradually, there was a reaction from the “establishment,” the established order of things. This led to an “anti-crescendo,” let’s say, whose escalation continues to this day.
K. L. How did your work in Music Theatre develop? Was it something you wanted to do from the beginning, or did it emerge along the way?
G. A. When I arrived in Paris, I met Edith Scob, a theatre and film actress, who became my wife. Thanks to her, the world of theatre and film opened up for me. Since then, I have worked extensively in various theatres with different directors, writers, and actors. It was then that I attended a concert by Mauricio Kagel featuring the piece “Sur scène.” It reinforced my view that music theatre was possible.
From then on, I began to explore different ways to unite theatrical text and music. I started sharing these ideas with the public in early 1971 at the Avignon Festival.
K. L. It’s worth mentioning here that you were the first to win the Mauricio Kagel Prize in 2011. The rationale for the award speaks of a “reinvention” of music theatre. Let’s move on, however. Over the years, your approach and style have evolved and changed. Would you like to say something about that?
G. A. It’s difficult for me to talk about my work. All I can say is that from the early 2000s, I started exploring technology. This changed my perspective and opened new horizons for me. Electronic music and real-time video play a significant role in my work. All of this led to a kind of trilogy developed within IRCAM, with the works “Machinations,” “Luna Park,” and “Thinking Things.” Since then, I have been working in this direction.
K. L. New Music has certainly moved away from the “aggressive” phase of the ’60s and the so-called international avant-garde. Would you like to comment on this? Has this change affected your own work?
G. A. I see music evolving. What was “avant-garde” in 1960 is now becoming a kind of academism. There are always those necessary madmen who push forward and break new ground. Today there is a tendency towards reconciliation with the wider public. I observe all this, but it does not affect my own approach.
Generally, I would say that today there is a rather negative attitude towards utopias. We are at a point where everyone is trying to assert themselves…
K. L. How do you get the idea for a piece? Do you start with musical ideas or visual elements? Do you perhaps work on both simultaneously? Do you write or plan a “scenario”?
G. A. I can’t say how I start a piece. Each time is different. Sometimes I start with a clear idea that I try to follow. Other times it’s musical material, and other times it’s theatrical material. If I’m developing a performance, I explore to see where it will take me. It’s quite like a labyrinth. I try to be open and sensitive enough to capture whatever presents itself as I write.
K. L. You certainly have pieces that are purely musical. Are these also performed, I assume?
G. A. There are many more musical pieces than theatrical ones. More than half of my works are not theatrical. The pieces are often performed by European and non-European ensembles. Klangforum and Musikfabrik perform my works very frequently. There are also Talea in New York, as well as various orchestras like the WDR, the Münchener Kammerorchester, the Tokyo Symphony, and others. Of course, also French orchestras. Chamber music, solos, and duets are also performed by young musicians.
K. L. “I’m not interested in theories, but in tangible results.” This is something you’ve said. Would you like to elaborate?
G. A. There is a time for everything. A time for theory and a time for practice. When I work on a piece, I think about its structure and its material. My theoretical and philosophical ideas are always in my mind, and I let them pass where they may. When I later read and look at the piece again, I might find contradictions or disagreements with what I generally think, but what matters to me is the uniqueness of the pieces.
Georges Aperghis’s website link: https://www.aperghis.com
Biographical information and photos: https://www.aperghis.com/biographies–photos.html
—–
The tribute takes place at
PLYFA – Building 7A
Koritsas 39, Votanikos 10447, Athens
email: info@plyfa.space – phone: 210 347 3642
Program of tribute events
for Georges Aperghis
Workshop
May 25-29, 2026
Guest of Honor · Georges Aperghis
Mentors · Eleni Ralli (composer / researcher / curator), Michalis Paraskakis (composer / music theatre / curator), Thanasis Deligiannis (composer / interdisciplinary artist / director)
Performers · Ana Kifu flute, Babis Karasavvidis violin, Andreas Kolpondinos trombone, George Kokkinaris double bass
Concert
Thursday, May 28 · 8:30 PM
Presentation of works by selected workshop composers, Ethan Blackburn (USA), Daniele Di Virgilio (Italy), George Chanos (Greece), Gabo Champagne (Canada), Henri Colombat (France), Niki Krasaki (Greece), Lien Wen-Chia (Taiwan), Vaida Vovere (Latvia), along with a selection from Georges Aperghis’s Recitations, with soprano Danae Bletsa.
Performers · Ana Kifu flute, Babis Karasavvidis violin, Andreas Kolpondinos trombone, George Kokkinaris double bass
Tickets · 12€, 7€ (reduced + UGC members)
Combo for both concerts May 28-29 · 20€, 13€ (reduced + UGC members)
Roundtable Discussion
Friday, May 29 · 6:30 PM
Georges Aperghis, Eleni Ralli, Thanasis Deligiannis, Michalis Paraskakis, Danae Bletsa, Sissy Makropoulou, Panagiotis Sioras, Panos Ziavras and Giannis Psarakis
Musical prologue · Tania Sikelianou violin
Concert
Friday, May 29 · 8:30 PM
Music theatre works by Georges Aperghis
Recitations for solo female voice
7 Crimes de l’amour for soprano, clarinet and percussion
Fidélité for solo harp
Le corps à corps for solo percussion
Retrouvailles for two percussionists
Performers · Danae Bletsa soprano, Sissy Makropoulou harp / voice, Panagiotis Sioras clarinet, Panos Ziavras percussion, Giannis Psarakis percussion
Tickets · 15€, 10€ (reduced + UGC members)
Combo for both concerts May 28-29 · 20€, 13€ (reduced + UGC members)
