Colour and Form – Between Classicism and Modernism

The Polish Academy of Sciences has the honour to inviete you to a concert ”Colour and Form – Between Classicism and Modernism” consecrated to Zoltán Kodály and Maurice Ravel’s works. The event will take place on the 19th of November 2026 in the Polish Academy of Sciences Scientific Center in Paris (74, rue Lauriston Paris 75116).

The concert programme brings together two outstanding works of twentieth-century chamber music written for violin and cello: Zoltán Kodály’s Duo, Op. 7 and Maurice Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Cello. Compositions reveal two distinct faces of European modernism while highlighting the remarkable expressive and timbral possibilities of the string duo.

The contrast creates a narrative of early twentieth-century European music as a space in which tradition is not rejected but becomes a point of departure for the exploration of new forms, colours and means of expression. Both composers draw upon the heritage of European chamber music while arriving at entirely individual solutions: Kodály through inspiration derived from the traditions of Central Europe, and Ravel through the refined sense of colour and structural precision characteristic of French musical culture.

In the Parisian context, the performance of Ravel’s Sonata – a work by one of the most important French composers of the twentieth century – acquires particular significance. Its contrast to Kodály’s Duo offers a broader European perspective on modernism and reveals the diversity of artistic ideas developing simultaneously during the first decades of the twentieth century.

The programme will be performed by Magdalena Kling-Fender – violin and Robert Fender – cello, artists who have collaborated for many years on chamber music projects. The intimate nature of the duo setting focuses attention on the essence of musical partnership: mutual listening, dialogue, the interplay of timbres and the individuality of two instruments. It is precisely this relationship that provides the common ground between the two works and forms the central artistic idea of the concert “Colour and Form – Between Classicism and Modernism.”

This event will be held in English.

Due to the limited number of places, those interested in attending the lecture are invited to register by sending an email to secretariat@paris.pan.pl 

By registering for the event, you accept the rules for the processing of personal data.