Passport Picks

Editor’s Choice

www.leningrad.spb.ru

Appearing on the Russian music scene in the late 1990s, this St. Petersburg band, fronted by Sergei Shnurov, quickly gained popularity. Their wit and penchant for free expression as well as their ability to combine such genres as ska and gypsy punk, won Leningrad a following among urban intellectuals in particular. Doses of buffoonery, alcohol, and samples of famous songs help make their music a witty and joyous mix that addresses real-life topics people really care about — like vodka and relationships. Their explicit lyrics (that often include Russian mat, or swear words)

B1 Maximum September 26, 20:00

led most media to avoid them, and at one point Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov even cancelled a number of their concerts scheduled in the capital. But in September, Muscovites will have a chance to take in the funny, clever, provocative, lively music of this band of hooligans.

The Black Prince of Flamenco

Joaquin Cortes is back in Moscow with his new solo program Mi Soledad [My Solitude]. In his dance performances, this prince of flamenco weaves together Spanish rhythms, gypsy passion, Arabic melodies, and exquisite jazz. Born in Cordoba in 1969 to parents from Malaga, Spain and the North African town of Tetouan, Cortes calls himself “half-Moor, half-Gypsy.” He began studying choreography at the age of 12 and within three years joined the National Ballet of Spain. At 21, he already embarked upon a solo career, soon founding his own group, Joaquin Cortes Flamenco Ballet. Cortes earned international attention

State Kremlin Palace September 30, 19:00

in 1995 with his show Pasion Gitana [Gypsy passion], an innovative combination of flamboyant flamenco and modern dance and the most widely-seen Spanish show in the world.

Sartorial Splendor from the V&A

In September, the Moscow Kremlin Museums will debut a unique exhibit, “Two Centuries of British Fashion from the Collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum.” That institution’s unparalleled textile collection has inspired such fashion design notables as Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano, who frequented it as students. Now the Russian museum-going public will have the opportunity to view outstanding examples of 18th- and 19th-century fashion, along with accessories, embroidery, and artisan textiles produced in Britain and France. See examples of women’s dresses from the rococo to the everyday, and trace the evolution of men’s fashion over 200 hundred years. Items on display include the ancestors of today’s classic men’s suits and outfits of the sort worn by Beau Brummell, considered the “prime minister of elegance” and arbiter of men’s fashion in Regency England.

Buccellati: Art Out of Time

The jewelry-making experience of the Buccellati family dates back to the mid-18th century, when Contardo Buccellati opened his workshop on Goldsmith’s Street (today, Via Orefici) in Milan. The modern House of Buccellati was founded in 1919 and has been producing original jewelry designs ever since. This fall, over 150 examples of the work of Mario and Gianmaria Buccellati drawn from museums and private collections will be on display in Moscow in the “Buccellati: Art Out of Time” exhibit. The retrospective, which includes such objects as cups embossed with gemwork as well as decorative jewelry, underscores the timelessness of Buccellati design. The show is part of an ongoing program at the Kremlin Museums to make the work of the finest European jewelers and jewelry design houses of the 20th century available to the Moscow museumgoing public.