Georges Aperghis
Composer | Greek | b. 1945
About Georges Aperghis
Georges Aperghis (b. 1945) was born in Athens and has lived and worked in Paris since 1963. Raised in an artistic family, he was initially drawn to both visual art and music. Largely self-taught, he developed a highly individual musical language that emerged after his early encounters with serialism, musique concrète and the work of Iannis Xenakis.
Aperghis first gained recognition with La tragique histoire du nécromancien Hiéronimo et de son miroir (1971), a work that established the close relationship between music, text and theatrical action that would become central to his output. In 1976 he founded ATEM (Atelier Théâtre et Musique), a pioneering company through which he developed a distinctive form of music theatre combining voices, instruments, movement, narrative and visual elements.
His work spans music theatre, opera and concert music, though the boundaries between these genres are often blurred. Aperghis is particularly known for his innovative treatment of language and voice, as well as a large catalogue of chamber, vocal and orchestral music.
Georges Aperghis has become one of the most influential figures in contemporary music. His honours include the Mauricio Kagel Music Prize (2011), the Golden Lion of the Venice Biennale (2015), the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Contemporary Music (2016) and the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize (2021).
