Saturday the 16th of November 2013
Goldsmiths, University of London

Registration is now open for the one-day conference on the work and ideas of Jani Christou. Although, there is no registration fee, we would suggest that you book your places as early as possible. Please contact: Maria Yerosimou on [log in to unmask]

For more information, including abstracts, please visit christouconference2013.wordpress.com


The conference

Jani Christou is a major Greek composer whose untimely death in 1970 at the age of 44 brought to an end an unusual 
career in which, in its final stage, avant-garde musical and theatrical materials and means were, in quite remarkable ways, brought into conjunction with Christou's deep immersion in philosophical and psychological studies and personal interests: The Jungian spirit, the unapproachable and the unconscious, the myth and the archetype, the wittgensteinian struggle with language and communication, the primitive, the transcendent, the panic and the hysteria. Christou invites his performers and audience in a journey into the inner and the unknown, awaking primordial instincts and entering the symbolic world of the unconscious. Characterised by a rare consistency, his works introduce innovative compositional systems and a personal ground-breaking music notation. 

We warmly invite you to take part in our conference dedicated to the work and ideas of Christou. The first part will be an international gathering of scholars with the aim of furthering the dialogue in the area. The conference also includes a showing of Costis Zouliatis's important new film on the composer, accompanied by an introduction to it by its director; this will replace the usual keynote address in an imaginative and scholarly fashion, offering the coup of presenting this film's British premiere. In addition, a workshop based around Christou's scores will give an opportunity for performers and scholars to explore new forms of interaction between creative practice and musicological scholarship. The event will culminate in an evening concert, led (as is the workshop) by the experienced Christou performer and scholar, Andriana Minou, and presented by Oiseaux Bizarres ensemble, an international team of expert players, singers, actors and film-makers.


Conference Schedule

Registration and welcome (coffee)	09.30 – 10. 00	

Paper session 1: "Protoconferencing"	
10.00 – 12.00	

Anastasia Siopsi
Jani Christou’s music for ancient dramas (1963-1969): a public form of ritual acts aiming to create emotional renewal.

Ianos Eliadis
Down to the underground: Mysterion score re-design and unknown paper.

Varvara Gyra / Kostis Karpozilos
“War, Conflict, Confrontation”: The politics of confrontation in Jani Christou.

Mimis Sophocleous
When Jani Christou met T.S. Elliot: The six songs on T.S. Eliot’s poetry as a pre-critical work.

Coffee break	12.00 – 12.30	

Paper session 2: "Metaconferencing"	
12.30 – 14.00	

Paul Attinello
Time, Dream and/or Archetype in the Musical Work

Elfriede Reissig
‘In the Cycle of Epidauros’ – Janis Christou and Giacinto Scelsi

Anne LeBaron


Lunch break	14.00 – 15.00	

Jani Christou's "Epicycle" – workshop	
15.00 – 17.00	Workshop leader: Andriana Minou

Break	17.00 – 18.00

Screening of the documentary “Anaparastasis: Life and Work of Jani Christou (1926-1970)” / Presentation by Costis Zouliatis, director.	
18.00 – 20.00	
Costis Zouliatis

Break	20.00 – 20.30	

Concert Performance: Epicycle, Anaparastasis I – The Baritone and Anaparastasis III – The Pianist	
20.30 – 21.30
Oiseaux Bizarres ensemble


Maria Yerosimou, Conference Organiser
Andriana Minou, Workshop and Concert Director
Keith Potter, Advisor