The work of Georges Aperghis (Athens, 1945) has been known for its links with theatrical improvisation since he founded the ‘Theater and Music Workshop‘ back in 1976. However, the recent compositions of this prolific artist of Greek origin, resident in France since 1963, show a renewed fascination with the piano.

The piano is nothing new to Aperghis. His first contact with music, at the age of five, was through the medium of this instrument, which would also become his first source of income and his first laboratory for experimentation. His early compositions in the 1960s were pieces for piano, though he would soon abandon this phase to devote all his energies to composing for the stage. It was not until 1997 that he returned to the keyboard for À Tombeau Ouvert, the first of the tracks on this latest addition to the Fundación BBVA-NEOS Collection. While this work, like the racing drivers its title refers to, changes tack at breakneck speed, the remaining pieces conjure up the multiple founts in which Aperghis has drunk. An extensive list that runs from Schumann –present in the structure of Les Secrets Élémentaires – to John Cage, a close influence in his beginnings, as we can hear on Simata, a 1969 work for prepared piano, where he gives full vent to his love of percussion and the serialism of his compatriot Iannis Xenakis.

Composer:
Georges Aperghis

Performances by:
Nicolas Hodges, piano

CD Audio
1. À Tombeau Ouvert (20:41)
2. Les Secrets Élémentaires (16:39)
3. Printmusic (15:16)
4. Pièce pour jeunes pianistes (02:51)
5. Simata for prepared piano (20:46)

Total time: 76:14