Join us for a conversation between Oleg Nesterov and Stephen Coates, discussing Nesterov's important composition ‘From the Life of Planets’ that is being played in London on Saturday. ‘From the Life of Planets’ is a musical tribute to the Russian films of the 1960s that were halted mid-production, due to dramatic changes in the nation’s political climate.
‘From the Life of Planets’ is a musical tribute to the Russian films of the 1960s that were never made, due to dramatic changes in the nation’s political climate. Known as ‘The Thaw’, the period from the mid-1950s to early 1960s was a time of relaxed repression and censorship, both in the culture and daily life of Russia. It was a sudden breath of freedom.
A new cinema was born – a Soviet New Wave – with one breakthrough after another. Russian films enjoyed international recognition at the Cannes and Venice film festivals. A golden age of Russian cinema was under way. But suddenly everything came to an end. At the Mosfilm studio alone, twelve feature-length projects were shut down in the autumn of 1963. By the end of 1968, after the Soviets crushed the Prague Spring, an innovative and liberal cinema had become a sprawling graveyard of films. ‘From the Life of Planets’ is a creative exploration of the period when everything seemed possible. This is a story of artists and power, freedom and repression.
Oleg Nesterov is a musician, producer, and writer. Oleg is the lead guitarist and singer of the Moscow-based band Megapolis and the Kapella of the Berlin Postmen project, as well as founder of the Snegiri music label. He also teaches a course on music producing at Moscow State University. His first book, “Skirt”, was published in 2008 – an alternative history book dedicated to the birth of rock’n’roll in pre-war Germany. 2014 saw the release of his multimedia project ‘From the Life of Planets’. This musical project was later brought to life in the form of a double album, an online archive platform and a musical show. This highly acclaimed project was described as ‘one of the most important cultural events in recent years’, and received the national ‘Book of the Year’ award in 2015. In June 2016, Oleg Nesterov presented his second novel ‘Divine Stockholm’, the story of a city that 1960s Moscow strived to become – a capital with a perfect social order.
Stephen Coates is a musician and arts producer. He has released many albums and tours internationally as The Real Tuesday Weld. His arts company Antique Beat have produced and curated a number of projects related to Russian music, including the acclaimed X-Ray Audio project dedicated to the story of the Soviet X-Ray bootleggers.
The performance ‘From the Lives of Planets’ will take place on 22 September at Under the Bridge club.
M.ART is a non-profit, non-governmental cultural organisation that showcases contemporary Russian culture in London, New York and Tel Aviv. M.ART presents a curated programme of events across all sectors including music, dance, film and theatre. M.ART seeks to introduce the diverse and exciting landscape of the current Russian art scene to the international community and Russian-speakers living abroad.
mart.foundation
In Russian with English translation.