As Advent passes its midpoint and one of the year’s most beautiful holidays approaches, we invite you to spend an afternoon with pianist Hélène Papadopoulos and the remarkable music of J. S. Bach.

The program, exploring the composer’s most highly praised works, will invite listeners on a thoughtful journey into a contemplative, spiritual space. Every piece, from toccatas brimming with dynamic energy to a profoundly deep transcription of the “Chaconne” for piano, and the inwardly searching “Duetti,” touches upon themes of reflection, renewal, and the transcendence of the human soul.

Hélène Papadopoulos is a pianist renowned for her complex and sensitive interpretations, particularly of J. S. Bach’s music, and distinguished by her multifaceted vision of creating and performing music. She completed studies in piano, harpsichord, cello, and chamber music at the Strasbourg Conservatory and the École Normale de Musique de Paris, and earned her doctorate in computational musicology at IRCAM / Sorbonne University in Paris. She performs as both a soloist and a chamber musician throughout Europe and North America.

Hélène’s concert series, featuring the complete works of Bach, has garnered wide acclaim and captivated listeners with its deep exploration of the spiritual and emotional facets of Bach’s music. Her unique ability to bridge tradition with modernity—whether through profound interpretations of such iconic works as the Goldberg Variations or by commissioning living composers to create a dialogue between Bach’s music and the contemporary world—creates an experience that is timeless yet deeply relevant today. This season, she presents the complete “Clavier-Übung” (the Partitas for Keyboard, the Italian Concerto, the French Overture, the Four Duets, and the Goldberg Variations) and the complete Sonatas for Keyboard and Violin BWV 1014–1019. Among her recent awards for musical excellence are a “Culture Moves Europe” grant and a “Scheide” grant from the American Bach Society.

In the course of her academic research and artistic development, the musician has published a music theory treatise by Leonhard Euler (1707–1783) alongside her own commentary. She is the artistic director of the “Festival aux Chandelles” in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, France: here, she redefines classical music programming, shedding light on the artistic research that shapes every performance. Supported by the Bach Archive in Leipzig, she is currently participating in an artist residency at CNMAT, University of California, Berkeley, delving into the legacy of American keyboardist Rosalyn Tureck for 21st-century Bach performance.

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