Music of Light and Colour - Milton Mermikides

Jan 20, 2026

Milton Mermikides, a Professor of Music and renowned composer, delves into the fascinating interplay between sound and vision. He discusses how artists like Kandinsky and Scriabin explored music's visual dimensions. Topics include synesthesia, where sounds invoke colors, and historical attempts to link music and light. Mermikides showcases the physical connections through demonstrations and examines famous composers who experienced chromesthesia, revealing how their unique perceptions influenced their work. It's a captivating journey into the senses intertwined!

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Senses As Linked Windows

Our senses are narrow windows that create cross-modal analogies between light and sound.
Milton Mermikides frames music and vision as linked perceptual systems revealing a hidden rapport.

ANECDOTE

Cartoon Caption With Musical Rhythm

Gary Larson changed a cartoon caption because the new words had the right rhythm.
Mermikides uses this to show how words create visual and rhythmic impressions beyond literal meaning.

INSIGHT

Phonetics Mirror Waveforms

Sound-symbolism maps phonetic shape to perceived shape, as in 'maluma' vs 'kiki'.
Mermikides demonstrates this by converting names into waveforms and audible examples.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/3B58-fA2b-4

"Colour is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, the soul is the piano with many strings." — Kandinsky

How do we ‘see’ music, or ‘hear’ images? From Newton’s colour scales assigning tones to the rainbow, artists and composers have long explored the deep connections between sound and vision.

Kandinsky’s Compositions and Improvisations; Klee’s polyphonic paintings, and Scriabin’s synaesthetic craft all reveal the scintillating interplay of visual and sonic art. This lecture traces their co-evolution and shared language, from spectral composers to technological translations of light into rhythm and melody, uncovering the hidden spectrum where music and colour intertwine.

This lecture was recorded by Milton Mermikides on the 14th of January 2026 at LSO St Luke’s, London

Milton Mermikides is a composer, guitarist, technologist, academic and educator in a wide range of musical styles and has collaborated with artists and scientists as diverse as Evelyn Glennie, Tim Minchin, Pat Martino, Peter Zinovieff, John Williams and Brian Eno. Son of a CERN nuclear physicist, he was raised with an enthusiasm for both the arts and sciences, an eclecticism which has been maintained throughout his teaching, research and creative career.
He is a graduate of the London School of Economics (BSc), Berklee College of Music (BMus) and the University of Surrey (PhD). He has lectured, exhibited and given keynote presentations at organisations like the Royal Academy of Music, TEDx, Royal Musical Association, British Library, Smithsonian Institute and The Science Museum and his work has been featured extensively in the press. His music, research and graphic art are published and featured by Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Deutsche Grammophon, Sony and more, and he has won awards, scholarships and commendations for writing, teaching, research and his charity work.
Milton is Professor of Music at the University of Surrey, Professor of Guitar at the Royal College of Music, Deputy Director of the International Guitar Research Centre, an Ableton Certified Trainer, and lives in London with his wife, the guitarist Bridget Mermikides and their daughter Chloe. He is also a Vice-Chair of Governors at Addison Primary School, a state school which foregrounds music education, offering free instrumental lessons for all on Pupil Premium.

The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/music-light-colour

Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham College's mission, please consider making a donation: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today

Website: https://gresham.ac.uk
X: https://x.com/GreshamCollege
Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege
Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/greshamcollege.bsky.social
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@greshamcollege
Support Us:

Support the show