SONIC CHROMAS | Games and Constellations

This program reflects elective affinities between music and the visual arts in 20th‑century France. It opens with two landmark works by Debussy from the Ballets Russes repertoire of Sergei Diaghilev: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (four‑hands version) and Jeux (solo piano version), first presented in 1912 with choreography by Nijinsky and sets by Bakst.

Beyond their theatrical context, the abstract force of Jeux—which profoundly influenced later generations of composers—can be paralleled with the equally decisive seeds of Cubism in the late works of Paul Cézanne.

A few decades later, Joan Miró’s series of 23 Constellations (1940–41), created in exile during the Franco regime, offered a model of artistic perseverance, formal harmony, and human integrity in a dark historical moment. Catalan composer Hèctor Parra translates Miró’s imagery into his own Constellations for piano four hands (2020), transforming the piano through extended techniques into an almost electroacoustic instrument.

Performed by Myrto Akrivou and Thaleia Papadopoulou, piano duo.

The duo met during the seminar “The Piano in the 20th and 21st Century” at the Athens Conservatory. They specialize in contemporary repertoire, collaborate with composers, present premieres and recordings, and perform in Greece and internationally.

Myrto Akrivou and Thaleia Papadopoulou, piano duo

May 19, 2026

Tuesday, 20:30

Free admission
(Advance seat reservation required)

*The Sonic Colors concert series is supported by Theodora Pikrou.