Georges Aperghis is a contemporary Greek composer known for his innovative and experimental theatrical works. His extensive work list also includes vocal and chamber music, and several operas and orchestral pieces. Aperghis was born in Athens in 1945, and his parents were both artists. He painted throughout his childhood, and he studied piano with a family friend. He became acquainted with the musique concrète of Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry in 1963, which inspired him to join the vibrant musical community of Paris to learn about music and composing. After Aperghis settled in Paris, he began to study the music of Iannis Xenakis, which became a major influence in his early works. In the late '60s, he composed several orchestral and chamber pieces, and by the early '70s he began composing theatrical music. His La tragique histoire du nécromancien Hiéronimo et de son miroir, Op. 13 from 1971 was his first exploration in this genre, and he also composed operas, incidental music, and vocal works thereafter. He established the Atelier Théâtre et Musique in 1976, to perform regular productions of his compositions. ATEM was initially subsidized by the town of Bagnolet, and Aperghis directed the company until 1997. He premiered several works here including La bouteille à la mer, Op. 32 in 1976, Conversations, Op. 79 in 1985, and Jojo, Op. 96 in 1990. After he left ATEM in 1997, Aperghis continued composing theatrical works, and he became more interested in writing vocal, chamber, and orchestral music. He continued composing through the 2000s and 2010s, and he collaborated with distinguished performers such as the International Contemporary Ensemble and Klangforum Wien. Since 2020, he has continued residing and composing in Paris, and his music was recorded by Héloïse Werner in 2022 and Stephanie Lamprea in 2023. ~ RJ Lambert, Rovi