On Sunday, May 4th at 8pm the Department of Music will welcome Hélène Papadopoulos to Wu Performance Hall for a free concert featuring two pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach as well as a piece by Faculty member and CNMAT Co-Director Carmine-Emanuele Cella. This concert will bring together two major works by Bach while introducing a contemporary perspective through the music of Cella. Centered around the Four duets BWV 802-805 and the Overture in the French style BWV 831, it offers a refined exploration of keyboard writing, where contrapuntal clarity and expressive depth coexist.
We recently caught up with Hélène to ask her a few questions about her upcoming performance as well as her experience as an Artist in Residence at CNMAT.
What should audiences expect from your upcoming concert?
They should expect to embark on a journey. Throughout his creative life, Bach continuously sought ways to elevate music to the highest level of development, always oriented towards the glory of God and the recreation of the mind. Such absolute music demands uncompromising standards from both the performer and the listener. The reward, for me, is being transported into a world where all emotional, intellectual, and spiritual sensations are explored within a sphere of peaceful introspection and renewal. This endlessly captivates me.
What excites you about the material chosen for the concert?
Beyond playing Bach, I am especially excited about premiering Carmine-Emanuele Cella's beautiful new cycle for piano solo. I encountered Cella’s music through his piece La Mémoire de l’Eau. I often tell him that when I listen to his music, it puts me in a state of profound introspection and complete absorption, much like when I contemplate the Reflecting Absence waterfalls in New York. This experience resonates deeply with my state when playing Bach’s music, but Cella’s treatment of sound, time, and space also aligns with how I perceive Bach’s structures and principles.
How has your residency at Berkeley shaped you as a musician?
My residency here has given me fresh perspectives and broadened my thinking. It is fascinating that many students at Berkeley are double majors, combining music with fields like mathematics or biology. This is very different from how students are trained in France, where they are expected to focus on a single subject. I also find the innovative approach to art-making here especially stimulating, with a broad range of activities and a very diverse group of students. For example, the composition PhD students each have a unique way of envisioning music. Although I haven’t had the time to explore all the facets of this rich environment — such as the musicology department — I look forward to diving deeper after my concerts in Europe this summer. I am excited to return to campus in the fall!