PARIS, December 26, 2025 – Composer Georges Aperghis, whose work blurs the lines between music, theater, and the spoken word, will be the central figure of the Présences 2026 Festival. The festival, set to take place in france, will feature four world premieres and several French premieres, celebrating the composer’s eightieth birthday and a lifetime of innovative artistry.
A Life Immersed in Art
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Aperghis’s creative journey began in a home steeped in artistic expression, shaping his multidisciplinary approach to composition.
But his passion extended beyond the visual arts. Piano lessons provided a foundation for a deep understanding of classical music. “In a bulimia of deciphering,” he used the instrument to forge a classical culture and nurture his burgeoning musical dreams.
Early Explorations in Paris
Arriving in Paris in 1963, Aperghis supported himself with odd jobs while pursuing his musical ambitions. He found an entry point into the Domaine Musical, attending its general sessions. Simultaneously, he explored the aesthetic ideas presented in Darmstadt and a more hands-on approach to sound at the Musical Research Group. Though, his time there was brief, ending in 1965.
“It interested me a lot,” Aperghis recalled in a recent interview,”composers like Bernard Parmegiani,François Bayle and Guy Reibel were all passionate. I was younger and I left because it took a long time to touch the magnetic tapes and do the editing. I first had to learn the theory of sounds according to the precepts of Schaeffer, but very quickly I wanted to move on to practical work.” He ultimately returned home, using a Revox tape recorder to experiment with tape and scissors-a practice that would significantly influence his instrumental writing.
Emancipating Performance
Aperghis’s work often involves performers who are not classically trained musicians, a deliberate choice that contributes to the unique character of his compositions. He explains, “I like to work with people who are not musicians, or who are musicians but not necessarily in the classical sense. It’s a way of avoiding the automatisms, the clichés, the habits that are so present in the classical world.” This approach is especially because it was the experience of people who are not professional musicians.
Avoiding Predictability
Aperghis’s shows, including the impressive Luna Park (2011), often develop organically on stage during rehearsals. He provides performers with elements that evolve through collaborative sessions, resulting in works rooted in oral tradition. “I’m full of patterns in my head,” he admits, “but I want to try to avoid them. I only use them when I can’t do otherwise!”
Even in a structured piece like the oratorio The Hamlet machine (2000), based on Heiner Müller’s work, the process remains the same: “I start with sequences for which I don’t know what they are intended for, I write the music without destination, just like a material, then I build the puzzle, I organise it with the text if there is text, and little by little the piece is made.”
To avoid clichés-dramaturgical, psychological, or formal-Aperghis favors “zigzag” or “spiral” constructions, preventing a direct progression of ideas. He cites the cubist Stravinsky of The Rite of Spring, discovered at seventeen, as a key influence, alongside the cinematic montages of Tex Avery. He describes his approach as creating a “mosaic made up of small sequences, where [he] voice[s] that each sequence is watertight and exists by itself,” while also ensuring they are connected by an “organic” quality, preventing the piece from becoming a mere “rosary.” he recalls a conversation with Boulez that clarified this paradox-the tension between structure and vitality-that has driven his work since its inception, culminating in a sense of life when the piece is performed.
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