Russian Accent | Blog of Nadia Sikorsky

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.