The sudden death of Jani Christou in a car accident at the age of 44 and at his creative peak sent shockwaves across the world of music. In the first few years after his death, his associates and contemporaries organised a series of features, presentations of his work, and premieres of his compositions (Latin Liturgy (Messa), Symphony no.2, Toccata for piano and orchestra). Avant-garde music festivals all over the world embraced his music while, as evidenced by the numerous conferences and academic theses dedicated to his oeuvre, scholarly interest in his work remains undiminished to this day. The publication of his late works was made possible through the diligence and dedication of musician Nikos Avgeris, a close associate of the composer’s, who undertook the task of deciphering Christou’s graphical notation to produce the final performance scores.
Several music creators, such as Giacinto Scelsi, Richard Felciano, Christian Wolff, Mikis Theodorakis, Nikos Mamagakis, Stefanos Vassiliadis, Michalis Adamis, Dimitris Dragatakis, Giorgos Kouroupos, et al., have composed works in Christou’s memory.
