Russian Masterpieces
Tuesday 22 January 2008 21:45-22:30 (Radio 3)
Philip Dodd visits the much-anticipated new exhibition of Masterpieces from Russian Museums which opens this week at the Royal Academy in London, despite the works becoming involved in recent diplomatic tension between London and Moscow.
Russian Masterpieces
Ilya Repin
October 17, 1905, 1907, 1911
Oil on canvas
184 x 323 cm
The State Russian Museum, St Petersburg
Photo © The State Russian Museum, St Petersburg
From the exhibition 'From Russia: French and Russian Master Paintings 1870-1925 from Moscow and St Petersburg'
Playlist
Russian Masterpieces
If any exhibition has managed to generate suspense about whether it would actually happen or not, it's been the Royal Academy's showing of master paintings from some of the finest art collections in Russia.
Fortunately, with the Russians satisfied that the paintings were safe and not about to be seized as stolen property - due to their history of being commandeered during the Russian Revolution - the exhibition has been able to go ahead and opens this weekend.
The acclaimed Russian historian Orlando Figes will be in the studio to tell us if it was all worth it.
The Exhibition From Russia: French and Russian Master Paintings 1870-1925 from Moscow and St Petersburg is at the Royal Academy of Arts from 26 January to 18th April 2008.
The 'Davos Question'
On the eve of the World Economic Forum in Davos, we'll be asking whether the attempts by the world's most powerful leaders to engage in intimate democracy in posing the 'Davos Question' on YouTube is a genuine attempt at engagement or a gimmick.
The Davos Question, and the video responses on YouTube, can be found here and here.
The World Economic Forum's annual meeting takes place between 23rd and 27th January.
Mourning and Grief
We'll also have psychoanalyst Darian Leader in the Night Waves studio to discuss with art historian Griselda Pollock the place of mourning and grief in contemporary culture.
He argues that our inability to see the mourning process through properly is a significant contributor to the modern malady of depression.
The Vertical Hour
And we review the new Royal Court production of The Vertical Hour, a play by pedigree political writer David Hare about the Iraq war.
The Vertical Hour runs from January 17th to March 1st.
The Costa Book Awards
We talk to this years winner of the 2007 Costa Book of the Year.
The shortlisted are made up of the Category Award winners, who are:
Catherine O'Flynn for What Was Lost. Winner of the 2007 Costa First Novel Award.
A.L. Kennedy for Day. Winner of the 2007 Costa Novel Award.
Simon Sebag Montefiore for Young Stalin. Winner of the 2007 Costa Biography Award.
Jean Sprackland for Tilt. Winner of the 2007 Costa Biography Award Winner.
Ann Kelley for The Bower Bird. Winner of the2007 Costa Children's Book Award Winner.
Find out more about the Costa Book Awards and the category winners here.
