Pandemic and political commitment… Written in the first person, the autobiography of French-speaking cellist Estelle Revaz sheds new light on the Swiss musical environment, so hard hit by covid-19.
The pandemic has left artists destitute, on the brink of collapse, in a terribly weakened financial situation, further aggravated by the inaction and ignorance of the policies in place. The pages which describe the material situation of most of them shock the understanding; It remains unimaginable that a country as rich as Switzerland could have neglected or even mistreated its artistic and cultural lifeblood. Starting from this observation which renews the very exercise of a biography elsewhere so smooth and conventional, Estelle Revaz, after having evoked her childhood, her training, her learning, recounts the rupture imposed by the pandemic and experienced as a trauma, all the more in an established indifference. The text mainly describes his post-covid daily life. The return to the concert, the obligation to honor commitments and programs is accompanied by numerous trials and challenges, which ultimately affect the psychological balance and test the body. Everything is said, described in great detail.
The text takes us behind the scenes of the artist: maintaining the fingers, maintaining the practice of the instrument, mental preparation, learning the scores by heart… cultural but above all physical challenges. Will the body follow? The cellist perfectly expresses her surpassing strength and at the same time extreme fatigue. The pages which describe the obligation to play 2 or even 3 concertos in the same evening are the most enlightening.
But this health shock produces an awareness which gradually turns into… political commitment. And the artist recounts his gradual decision to join a political party in order to concretely defend the interests of artists in Switzerland.
Other challenges arise, including reconciling an artistic career (concerts and recordings) and an elected mandate.
It’s not easy to face such divergent activities and actions head-on… How can you cultivate your dreamlike imagination and pursue a fight that confronts the cynical ordinariness of politics? The one who presents herself to her fellow politicians in the Bernese Federal Parliament as “the Saltimbanque” nevertheless gains the respect of her peers through tenacity and constancy. A place now recognized thanks to the accuracy of his fight. Rare as well as exceptional, artists like Estelle Revaz capable of such involvement in the collective interest. Admirable and exciting.
In the fall of 2024, Estelle REVAZ releases her new album, dedicated to 11 Caprices de Dall’Abaco (170 – 1805) – next review to come on CLASSIQUENEWS / album elected CLASSIQUENEWS.
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REVIEW book event. ESTELLE REVAZ: The Saltimbanque (editions Slatkine) – CLASSIQUENEWS winter 2024. More information on the publisher Slatkine’s website: https://www.slatkine.com/fr/editions-slatkine/75906-book-07211260-9782832112601.html
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