From Russia with Art

Somehow in the last several weeks, Russian avant-garde culture of the early 20th century has been presenting itself with surprising consistency, both here in LA and during my recent trip to Holland. In Amsterdam I saw excellent early paintings by Kandinsky, and on the last day there, I was invited to see The Four Temperaments by Balanchine performed by the Dutch National Ballet. The theater was packed, and the dancers were very good. All that made me think about the famous Ballets Russes and its impresario Sergei Diaghilev, who introduced the whole world to the genius of Igor Stravinsky’s music in his ballets Petrushka and The Rite of Spring...