From 21.06.2026 to 21.06.2026
Comme un galet d’or / Like a “refined” pebble*
The National Gallery and its Nafplion Annex celebrate World Music Day with a unique concert dedicated to some of Greece’s foremost poets and composers, as well as to traditional music. The Annex – currently hosting Helene Pavlopoulou’s exhibition Zoephoros – invites visitors to admire twenty-one works of art that converse with historical paintings from the permanent collection.
Greek culture has a long tradition of setting poetry to music. In their new duo, singer Cybèle Castoriadis and guitarist Orestis Kalampalikis present a programme that revisits some of the most beautiful Greek poems ever set to music, from celebrated ones by Elytis, Ritsos, Kavadias, and others, to lesser-known pieces, while also drawing on antiquity and folk poetry. Popular melodies by the greatest composers of our time are interwoven with traditional music, bringing the beauty and poetry of the Greek language to the fore through Orestis’s refined arrangements and Cybèle’s unique voice.
*“A pebble refined down in the deep / plantations and roofs of the glaucous sky”
(The Axion Esti, Odysseus Elytis, in The Collected Poems of Odysseus Elytis, translated by Jeffrey Carson and Nikos Sarris, Johns Hopkins University Press)
Born in Paris, Cybèle Castoriadis took up music and singing at an early age. Her artistic work spans the lyrical repertoire, contemporary music, jazz, and theatre. She has appeared in major theatrical productions in France and performed in concerts in Greece and abroad. Bringing together voice, music, and stage presence, she has developed musical performances and collaborated with acclaimed artists. Her recordings include projects devoted to French song and the international repertoire, alongside more recent works of her own.
Orestis Kalampalikis is a guitarist and composer based in Athens and Paris. His work brings Greek musical influences into dialogue with the language and forms of Western classical music, while developing a personal style and new techniques for the guitar. He studied at the National Conservatory of Athens and later at the Conservatoire national supérieur de Musique de Paris, earning several distinctions. An award-winning composer, he has also written for the theatre. He collaborates with leading artists and has taken part in recordings and concerts. His recorded work includes both his own compositions and collaborations with other artists. In 2024, he recorded one of his works with the Athens State Orchestra.
Date: Sunday, June 21, 2026
Time: 20:00
Venue: National Gallery – Nafplion Annex
