Russian Accent | Blog of Nadia Sikorsky

The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande invites music lovers to concerts in Geneva, Lausanne and Lucerne on May 20, 21 and 22. Under the direction of Lithuanian conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, with Latvian pianist Georgijs Osokins as soloist, the orchestra presents an original programme featuring works by Frank Martin, Frédéric Chopin, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.

Today in Europe, and tomorrow in Russia, Victory Day is commemorated: for Europeans, the Second World War; for Russians, the Great Patriotic War. Unfortunately, this holiday has ceased to be shared. It is precisely these days that the exhibition We and War is taking place at the Swiss National Museum in Zurich, in a country that did not take part in combat operations.

On 2 May, the Metropolitan Opera broadcast Eugene Onegin from New York to audiences around the world. I could not resist the pleasure of hearing this beloved opera again, at the Cinéma Empire in Geneva.

An early work by the popular Geneva-based writer was reissued twenty years after its first publication and caught my eye.

To begin with, let me clarify: this is not about the French political figure whose remains rest in the Panthéon, but about a religious thinker and philosopher who, at the age of ten, declared herself a “Bolshevik”.

These days, Geneva’s Théâtre de Carouge is presenting "Ivanov", directed by the French director Jean-François Sivadier, who has taken on the Russian repertoire for the first time. In my view, there is a dissonance between him and Chekhov.

The outstanding writer whom Russia, Switzerland and the United States all regard as their own would have been 127 today: Vladimir Nabokov was born in St Petersburg on 22 April (New Style) 1899. On this occasion I would like write about a very interesting book published last year in his native city.

Assessing Richard Strauss’s opera Arabella, recently revived on the stage of the Zurich Opera House in a 2020 production by the Canadian director Robert Carsen, it is important to bear in mind the date of its creation, 1933.

This is how I would propose translating into English the title of Witold Szabłowski’s book Rosja od kuchni, recently published in French by the Lausanne-based publishing house Editions Noir sur Blanc under the title “Ce qui mijote au Kremlin”.

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.

Let me clarify at the outset: this is not about a specific musical composition, but about an ensemble formed just over a year ago which, after a successful debut in Zurich, is now preparing to demonstrate its artistry in Geneva.

The personal relics of the last King of Italy, preserved within the family until today, will be presented to the public in Geneva for the first time. This month, Piguet Hôtel des Ventes will offer at auction a unique collection of orders of chivalry and decorations that belonged to Umberto II (1904-1983). They will be exhibited in the Maison’s salons from 12 to 15 March, before being offered to collectors during the auction week beginning on 16 March.

On 15 March, the outstanding pianist of our time, Evgeny Kissin, will give a recital in Zurich as part of the "Les Grands Interprètes" series presented by the Caecilia agency. The programme may be described as a romantic evolution of the pianistic “self”.

This statement from the Foreword to the poetry collection "How are we meant to survive this", published by Freedom Letters in Russian and English, summarises, in my view, the essence of the collective work of the twenty-six authors represented in it and their eighteen translators. This collection is one of my strongest literary impressions of the past several years.

For four years now, this question, so important to me, has not left the agenda, whether in private conversations, in the international press, or simply in life itself. Allow me to return to the day when I first asked it of myself.

On March 6th, the concert agency Cæcilia presents a recital by the pianist Tsotne Zedginidze, born in 2009. The programme includes works by Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and… by the young musician himself.

British actor Ralph Fiennes did not exaggerate when he said that he had no intention of departing from the original storyline as he embarked on Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, his first operatic production. This directorial venture on the stage of the Paris Opera drew a wide range of reactions, and I took the opportunity to compare my own impressions with those of tenor Bogdan Volkov, the interpreter of Lensky, whose performance left me truly delighted.

For the first time in its history, the Fondation Beyeler in Basel is devoting a monographic exhibition to Paul Cézanne (1839–1906), on view until 25 May 2026.

The participation of the Russian violinist in the festival Les Sommets musicaux lent an event usually free of controversy a faint aura of scandal. Media outlets in several countries seemed interested in little else, which one can only regret. The festival audience, however, came for the music, and the music did not disappoint.

Today, a short story collection by the Ukrainian writer Serhiy Zhadan is reaching bookstores in Switzerland, France, Belgium, and Canada. Published by the Lausanne-based Éditions Noir sur Blanc in Iryna Dmytrychyn’s French translation, it bears the title "No One Will Ask Anything. News from Kharkiv" (Personne ne demandera rien. Nouvelles de Kharkiv).

The Swiss release of The Kremlin Wizard, a film by the French director Olivier Assayas based on Giuliano da Empoli’s novel Le Mage du Kremlin, has, unsurprisingly, triggered a wave of emotions and commentary. I, too, will say a few words.

Today, the traditional contemporary art fair opens at Geneva’s Palexpo exhibition centre, an event I have followed since its founding in 2012. This year, however, one particular stand is of special interest to me: for the first time, the Barbier-Mueller Museum is taking part in the project.

By decision of the United Nations, 27 January, the day Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated by Soviet troops in 1945, is observed as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this occasion, I would like to tell you about the Jewish Museum of Switzerland in Basel, which I visited last week.

At the Skopia gallery in Geneva, a memorial exhibition is being held in honour of an outstanding Russian artist. Do not miss it.

This is the theme of the upcoming Yehudi Menuhin International Music Festival in Gstaad, which will take place from 16 July to 5 September 2026.

The contract of the British conductor as Music Director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande expired at the end of last year. Yet he is already returning to Geneva, this time as a guest conductor, to bring together the OSR and the Orchestra of the Geneva Music Conservatory (HEM Geneva).

In just two days at the Le Piano Symphonique festival, I gathered enough impressions for an entire season. Let me share them with you.