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Russian Seasons to be Opened in New York

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Russian Seasons to be Opened in New York

17.10.2016

It is sometimes nice to return back to the past, especially, to the great past blessed by such names as Dyagilev, Stravinskiy, Petipa, Goncharov, Larionov… New “Russian Seasons” are not held in Paris, but in New York.  They are also blessed by Roerich’s name. His magical paintings create unique atmosphere for the participants of literature and music salon KRiK. From now on, meetings will be held monthly at the Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York.


The first night of the first season with Russian-speaking writers and musicians was held on October 13. Its opening was a success – the hall of an old mansion in the Upper West Side Manhattan was not big enough to place all the willing participants.  Literary part was opened by famous writer and journalist Aleksandr Genis.



Aleksandr Genis

In his speech, he presented his book of memoirs “Return Address”. Books by Genis, who partly wrote them together with the deceased Petr Vail, and Svoboda radio station broadcasts are a special part in the history of Russian émigré culture. “I have never been invited as a speaker in such magnificent decorations. Thanks to Roerich!”, - he said. He started his speech from childhood and youth memories, from reverential attitude to Nicholas and Svyatoslav Roerichs’ heritage in Riga, where he is from himself. Genis came to the USA 39 years ago and visited Roerich’s Museum regularly. So, this speech was not a coincidence for Genis.


Clarinetist Julian Milkis and pianist Aleksandr Izbitser performed during the musical part of the evening. In fact, Milkis is the only student of jazzman Benny Goodman. “Svoboda” radio station awarded Aleksandr Izbitser the title of “Russian America’s Person of the Year” in 2007; in New York, many know him thanks to his performances in legendary restaurant “Russian Samovar”. This duet performed fragments of Gia Kancheli’s “Miniatures for Clarinet and Piano – Music of Theatre and Cinema” previously unperformed in New York. Isbitser also performed several classic works on old piano owned by one of Roerich’s followers Zinaida Fosdik, who created and became the head of the museum in 1949.


The project is being implemented with informational support of Russian-American TV-channel RTN WMNB and news portal RUNYweb.com. Russian-American KRiK Publishing House is the inspirator of the project, first of all – their heads Gennadiy and Rika Katsovs. These people are the real locomotives of the Russian cultural society in America. They have implemented many interesting projects, including a series of bilingual mini-collections of poems, which bears a name “Russian Word Without Limits”. One of the most notorious projects of the publishing house was a poetic collection – anthology “OURCRIMEA”, which tried to “take geopolitics into geopoetics”.
 

Read also: Gennadiy Katsoc: Russian New York Never Sleeps 

“Russian Seasons” are not that radical. Quite the opposite – they draw a delicate line between the past and the present, drawing attention to complexity of talents of those, who they call “Russians” in America – people with Soviet and CIS background or their descendants, who have somehow saved Russian language.



Gennadiy Katsov 


Gennadiy Katsov – poet, writer and journalist – was hosting the event; he is well-known both in Russian US and far beyond its boundaries.


I asked Gennadiy Katsov to tell about the first meeting.


– It was a success – almost 200 people came. One fifth of them were people under 30. You can’t gather more for events like these even in Moscow.  We have to take a Russian-American feature into account: people, who are 20-25 years old, speak English in vast majority of cases and these events are held only as “Russian”. Although, if yesterday came almost 200 people (unfortunately, many of them stood in aisles, some sat on the steps, some could not even reach the steps), in Moscow such events gather 20–30 visitors... 50 and more is rare. So, the event at Roerich’s Museum was a success, indeed.


Aleksandr Genis read chapters from his book of memoirs “Return Address”. The audience’s reaction was vivid and vigorous; the text was magnificent, wise and ironic at the same time, sad and funny. Certainly, mentioning Brodskiy, Losev, Dovlatov, Vail, Paramonov and many other famous names and literary characters, with whom Aleksandr Genis shared his lot, met the audience’s favour.


At the end of the event, he answered the audience’s questions. Many ridiculous, surprising, autobiographic and wise things were said during this part of the event. There was a question from the audience: “I tried cooking something according to your recipes from your book “Russian Cuisine in Exile”, written together with Petr Vail, but could not make anything, why?” Genis answered he always used these recipes at home.


Both during the first and second part, Genis’s stories were interrupted by musical “pauses”, performed by world-known clarinetist Julian Milkis and pianist Aleksandr Izbitser.


The atmosphere in the hall was friendly and relaxed. We have to say that holding nine events of “Russian Seasons in New York at Nicholas Roerich’s Museum” from October to June is not just a vivid, but also a significant step in the history of both Russia-American Society and general cultural background of New York.



“Russian Seasons” at Nicholas Roerich’s Museum were an absolute success

There have been talks that American Russian-speaking society has been lacking past unity and active cultural life. This project is one of rare opportunities to return the good times, when you could meet Dovlatov in the crowd, listen to poems by Kostya Kuzminskiy or stumble upon Brodskiy and Baryshnikov at the “Russian Samovar”. There are other vivid, talented and artistic people here now, but it is a very hard task to gather them together – there is either no money, or no initiative or ideas. But it seems, that the “Russian Seasons” organisers are able to cope with it.


So, every second Thursday from October to June, “Russian Seasons” are going to be held. It is already known, that writers Vladimir Gandelsman, Anna Galbertshtadt, Marina Temkina, Gary Lite, Slava Polishchuk, Grigoriy Starikovskiy, Gennadiy Katsov, David and Maksim Shraers, musicians Julia Zilberkvit, Vadim Neselovskiy, Boris Strulev, Elena Peres, Evgenia Pilyavina, Elena Kushnerova, Svetlana Gorokhovich, Irena Portenko and others are going to take part in the events and also Lera Auerbach, who will show her two faces – of a poet and a composer. One more bonus of the project is that all the events are free of charge.


Thus, “Russian Seasons” are going to quite literally become one of the most important events of Russian culture in New York. And no matter how the Russian Americans will vote, they will still visit these events to meet each other once more, to hear, see and realize how great (quite literally) the Russian culture is.


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