Abstract colour and sound composition inspired by Kandinsky and synaesthesia.
Used with permission.
As a young man, Russian-born artist Wassily Kandinsky attended a performance of Wagner’s Lohengrin (premiered in 1850). The music stirred vivid imagery in his mind—colours and shapes that seemed to move with sound.
“The violins, the deep tones of the basses, and especially the wind instruments at that time embodied for me all the power of that pre-nocturnal hour,” Kandinsky recalled…
“I saw all my colours in my mind; they stood before my eyes. Wild, almost crazy lines were sketched in front of me. I did not dare use the expression that Wagner had painted ‘my hour’ musically.”
This vivid “visual symphony” Kandinsky described may have stemmed from a rare neurological phenomenon known as synaesthesia.
Synaesthesia affects an estimated 2 to 4 percent of the global population. It’s a neurological condition where one sense blends with another—like hearing colours or tasting words.
There are many forms of the condition but the most common is grapheme-colour synaesthesia, which causes an individual to see letters and numbers in the form of colours.
Other types include:
- Auditory-tactile – feeling sound as physical sensation
- Lexical-gustatory – tasting words
- Mirror-touch – feeling what others are seen to feel
- Chromesthesia – hearing colours or seeing sound (possibly Kandinsky’s type)
One striking detail is Kandinsky’s recollection of “the sound of colours”—a sensory experience so vivid and compelling that it led him to leave behind a career in law and enrol at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts in 1896. From that moment onward, music remained a profound influence throughout his artistic journey, shaping his work within a deeply spiritual framework.
In Concerning the Spiritual in Art, Kandinsky wrote, “Colour directly influences the soul… Colour is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, the soul is the piano with many strings.” He imagined the artist as the hand that plays this instrument, deliberately striking keys to stir emotional resonance. This metaphor offers a glimpse into how Kandinsky may have experienced synaesthesia—where colour, sound, and emotion flowed together in a deeply intuitive, almost musical way.
“Around the Circle”
Inspired by Kandinsky’s sensory world and spiritual beliefs, Around the Circle is a jazz composition by New York-based musician Zane Rodulfo. Created in response to Kandinsky’s practice, the piece explores the emotional resonance of colour and sound through layered instrumentation.
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Rachel Bakewell 