Russian Accent | Blog of Nadia Sikorsky

Kunsthaus Zürich presents the first survey exhibition in Switzerland of the contemporary American artist Kerry James Marshall, organised in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Arts in London and the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris.

What can one expect from a film about real people whose fate we already know? Quite a lot, as it turns out. Over three and a half hours, the viewer follows the protagonists of Rays and Shadows, Xavier Giannoli’s latest film, along the road to hell paved with good intentions, or, more precisely, along the path from the pacifist illusions of the post-war period to active collaboration during the Nazi occupation of France.

A tribute in ballet form to the great Russian dancer, created by Kirill Serebrennikov, Yuri Possokhov and Ilya Demutsky, is currently being performed on the stage of the Berlin State Opera. But it was conceived for the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, where I had the good fortune to see it several years ago. So I can compare my impressions.

For the first time in my journalistic career, I want to tell you about a concert I have no intention of attending. And the reason, of course, has nothing to do with the brilliant composers whose works appear on the programme, nor even with the performers. The problem is the “packaging”, which deeply shocked me.

I offer reflections on a documentary film by a former school videographer from a provincial Russian town, "Mr Nobody Against Putin", which has sparked heated debate in professional circles and on social media.

The country’s largest art museum has decided to become a leader in preserving the heritage of Switzerland’s greatest artist and one of the most important sculptors of modernism on a global scale, whose double anniversary is being marked this year: 125 years since his birth and 60 years since his death.

The decision of the Music Society of La Chaux-de-Fonds not to cancel the concert by Elisabeth Leonskaja and The Jerusalem Quartet, scheduled for 22 March, has turned what would have been an ordinary cultural event into a victory of reason and professionalism. I will explain why and present an exclusive interview with the outstanding pianist.

Today, bookshops in Switzerland, France, Belgium and Canada will receive the book «Vasyl Stus. Palimpsests. Poetry and Letters from the Gulag» (« Vasyl Stus. Palimpsestes. Poésie et lettre du Goulag »), devoted to the Ukrainian poet whose verses have been translated into French for the first time by the renowned Slavist. Lovers of poetry owe this literary event to the Lausanne publishing house Éditions Noir sur Blanc.