Sound installation at the Book Castle of the NLG

The GNO Learning & Participation Department’s electroacoustic composition workshop titled Latent Space will present a unique sound installation at the Book Castle of the National Library of Greece in the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center from 27 March to 2 April 2025, with free admission for the public. This sound installation features compositions by Ioannis Angelakis, Vasilia Georgiou, Evangelia-Athina Gkiozou, Dimosthenis Gousios, Stefanos Zafeiriadis, Pantelis Lykoudis, Georgia Mantalia, Stelios Tsiloglou, and Marina Frangioudaki. Latent Space, a project designed and implemented by Giorgios Mizithras (MIZI) with the scientific collaboration of Themelis Glynatsis, was carried out this year for the second time in partnership with the National Library of Greece.

The installation is a fascinating sound environment consisting of nine new compositions that emerged from the personal artistic explorations of the nine participants in the Latent Space workshop, focusing on the relationship between sound and space. Structured around a multi-channel system of 22 speakers, each functioning as an independent source of sound, this sound installation aims to offer visitors a unique immersive experience, allowing them to explore the composers’ groundbreaking soundscapes. “The design of this installation is based on the concept of utilizing ‘speakers as musical instruments’, exploring how a speaker’s general characteristics, such as its spatial positioning, frequency response, and material can influence a sound work and be incorporated into it.”, explains Giorgios Mizithras (MIZI).

Inspired by Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, where space serves as the work’s third “protagonist,” the nine participants, from November through March of this season, engaged in a practical and theoretical exploration of sound’s spatial dimension and the ways in which sound can shape or reshape spatial experience in real-time. More specifically, they examined the process of working on the text, conducted a historical review of how texts have been utilized in music theater and opera, and studied the technological and compositional process. They also selected a text of their preference to experiment with the concepts of structure and randomness, attempting to preserve or subvert the spirit of the original texts.  

On 27 March 2025, and for six additional days, this year’s Latent Space will showcase nine new works to the public, all responding to the question, “How can artists unfold the spaces and meanings lying within texts through sound?”. The works that will be featured are based on a broad range of texts, including celebrated pieces of international literature and poetry, socio-political essays, and excerpts from psychiatric textbooks.

On Thursday, 27 March 2025, the opening day of the sound installation, an open discussion will be held with the public and contributors of the educational programme in the foyer of the National Library of Greece at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center at 18:30. The discussion will be led by Alexandros Efklidis.

In collaboration with

Lead Donor of GNO Learning & Participation