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Restoration of Max Ernst’s “The King”

Thierry Lagache — Thu, 16 May 2013 09:30:42 +0000

“The King Playing with the Queen”, a work by Max Ernst, a German painter and sculptor known for his part in the Surrealist movement, is being restored.

The sculpture, made in 1944, will be displayed as part of a retrospective exhibition of the artist’s work, sponsored by the Swiss Beyeler Foundation. The exhibition will be held from 26 May to 8 September 2013.

For the event, the Beyeler Foundation is restoring the King’s splendour.

While the restoration work will of course require research, it is also and above all a synonym for “rehabilitation”. The artwork has become a patient.

Lying on a table, the King sleeps, while his caretakers restore his original appearance and highlight the wealth of history surrounding the work.

“The King Playing with the Queen” is one of three works being restored with the support of the BNP Paribas Switzerland Foundation. “The King” is the second work to be restored, following “The Level Crossing” by Fernand Léger and prior to “The Hungry Lion Attacking an Antelope” by Henri Rousseau.

The “Directors’ Fortnight” at the Cannes Festival, a hotbed of talent

Emeline Latt — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:02:51 +0000

The Cannes Film Festival is nearly upon us, and with it the “Quinzaine des réalisateurs”, literally the “Directors’ Fortnight”, set to take place from 16 to 26 May.

The Fortnight, which was created in 1968 by the French Directors’ Guild, is an independent, free and non-competitive event that welcomes all forms of cinematic expression, held in parallel with the Cannes Film Festival.

It gives young artists a chance to make a name for themselves, as well as honouring the work of well-known and respected filmmakers.

Made up of a selection committee of 5 individuals chaired by Edouard Waintrop, a film critic of 26 years’ standing, the event gave the early films of George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee and Sofia Coppola a shot at the limelight.

Take a look at the list of feature films and short films that have been selected for this year’s event, sponsored by BNP Paribas.

International Festival of Jazz & Film: The Results are in!

Emeline Latt — Fri, 10 May 2013 08:44:04 +0000

The first International Festival of Jazz & Film kicked off on April 12.

A sumptuous three-day feast, fusing jazz and film.

This gem of a concept is the brainchild of jazz aficionado Jean-Marc Gélin, journalist Alex Dutilh, radio host Thierry Jousse, and MK2, the major French cinema network. Their mission: to create an event that would bring jazz to an audience of cinema buffs.

Of course, jazz fans were also called upon! It would have been hard for the news to pass them by: Radio France, France Musique, Jazz Magazine… virtually the entire French jazz network was mobilized for the occasion.

Musically, the best concerts were at the launch party. As far as cinema events went, the “Round Midnight” film debate, led by director Bertrand Tavernier, went particularly well, and the film screenings for young audiences were a success.

The event programming was exceptional: from a film tribute to Quincy Jones, through treasures from the National Audiovisual Institute archives, to classic 50s films and recordings. Our organizers couldn’t be more pleased.

After such an intense musical and film experience, we can only hope there’ll be a second edition in 2014!

“French Spring Festival” heralds the start of the new season in Ukraine

Viktoriya Tomin — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:59:01 +0000

The French Spring Festival in Ukraine celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, with events taking place in the country’s six largest cities: Kiev, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Lviv and Odessa.

The event, which has been sponsored by UkrSibbank BNP Paribas Group for the past 7 years, signals the arrival of spring.

A wide range of cultural and artistic events have been delighting the country since April 2. The programme includes both French and Franco-Ukrainian projects, including theatre performances, concerts, shows, films and visual arts exhibitions – a rich and diverse set of offerings to celebrate the festival’s 10th birthday!

A premiere of the film “Möbius” will be screened during the panorama of French cinema, and an exhibition dedicated to the painter Jacques Shapiro will be held at the National Art Museum of Ukraine in Kiev.

As is the case every year in Ukraine, the entire month of April is full of experiences and emotions related to French culture.

Rising Star Piano Festival showcases young talent

Amanda J. Liu — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:42:53 +0000

The ‘Rising Star’ Piano Festival was initiated and sponsored by BNP Paribas China and the BNP Paribas Foundation. It was created to uncover the rising stars of China’s most talented young pianists, providing them with a platform on which to showcase their abilities.

Under the leadership of Mr. Paul-Arnaud Péjouan, Artistic Director of the Festival Piano aux Jacobins, this programme has received wide acclaim from both the teachers and students of China’s leading conservatories of music.

The pianists to attend the event represent the best of China’s young pianists, evaluated and selected jointly by international professionals and famous professors of the Central Conservatory of Music.

The four-day event took place in April at the Forbidden City Concert Hall (FCCH) and the Concert Hall of CCOM in Beijing. Eight young Chinese pianists, including Muye Wu, a famous Chinese pianist who studied in France, demonstrated their musical talent to audiences from China and around the world who enjoyed the pianists’ outstanding performances.

Hong Kong Students Reflect on their Dance Workshop Experience

Joyce Leung — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:58:27 +0000

As a follow up to our last article about the final shows of this year’s Artists-in-Residence project, in which participating students performed what they had learned from choreographer Rock Fang and French artists Abou and Nawal Lawal of Compagnie La Baraka, here is what the students had to say!

As a reminder, this multi-disciplinary arts education programme aims at developing performing arts appreciation among secondary school students. Students performed a piece inspired by La Baraka’s signature work NYA (which means “trust in life”), a composition that combines yoga, contemporary dance, hip-hop and ballet. The shows were well-received by a large enthusiastic audience!

Cubist Cubism in Rome

Raffaella Violentano — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:48:10 +0000

Cubistes and Cubisme, a new exhibition sponsored by BNL, is on now and running until June 23rd at the Vittoriano Complex in Rome.

Over 200 works will be on display, including oil paintings, drawings, sculptures, design objects, films, costumes, compositions and documents retracing the birth and growth of this movement, revolutionary in both Europe and across the Atlantic at the time.

Cubism was created by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque between 1907 and 1914 in France, in a context of dramatic political and social change. It spread rapidly and widely influenced the artists and creators of the era.

Over and above the works of Picasso and Braque, the exhibition gives visitors a chance to see works by Juan Gris, Fernand Léger, Albert Gleizes, Jean Metzinger, Gino Severini, Wyndham Lewis and Vanessa Bell, to name only a few. These works have been collected from some of the world’s most prestigious museums.

After an exhibition this rich, you’ll come out speaking this “revolutionary artistic language”!

A Master of the Renaissance—accessible to all

Raffaella Violentano — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 14:50:06 +0000

BNL is lending a work by Lorenzo Lotto, “Giuditta con la testa di Oloferne”—Judith with the Head of Holofernes—for inclusion in the exhibition “A master of the Renaissance. Lotto in the Marche region”, which is being held in the Sale delle Arti at the Palace of Venaria from 9 March to 7 July 2013.

The Italian bank chose to participate in the organization of this major cultural event by contributing one of the masterpieces from its private collection.

The painting normally hangs in BNL’s head office, located in an iconic palazzo on Via Vittorio Veneto in Rome. Previously, the public has only had the opportunity to view this work during “Invito a Palazzo” days, when banks open the doors of their historic buildings to the public.

The Queen Elizabeth Competition, a springboard for musical talent

Alain de Greef — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:40:42 +0000

The Queen Elizabeth Competition is a prestigious international music competition that has been honouring young virtuoso musicians, including instrumentalists, singers and composers, for 75 years.

The competition was an initiative of Queen Elizabeth of Belgium. Its aim is to help young performers to achieve a bright career in the music world.

In 2012, the laurels went to the violin. The Russian violinist Andrej Baranov won first prize after an incredible performance of Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 2 in D major, following in the footsteps of David Oistrakh, Gidon Kremer and Vadim Repin, prize winners in previous years.

The next phase: a series of international concerts given by the winner with the support of BNP Paribas Fortis, a backer of the competition for more than 20 years. The young artist will perform works by Tchaikovsky, Franck, Wieniawski and Brahms, accompanied by the Russian pianist Inga Dzektser.

Marc Bouchkov, a Belgian musician who reached the finals of the 2012 competition, will also give a series of private concerts. Accompanied by the Ukrainian pianist Georgiy Dubko, he will perform a number of passionate works by Eugène Ysaÿe, Prokofiev, Chausson and others.

While we wait for the 2013 competition to get going, free concerts for young people (aged 26 and under) will be held in late March:

- Tuesday, 26 March 2013 in Brussels (20:15, Flagey)
- Wednesday, 27 March 2013 in Leuven (21:00, Aula Maria-Theresia, no reservations)
- Thursday, 28 March 2013 in Louvain-la-Neuve (20:30, reservations at the Ferme du Biéreau concert hall).

During these concerts, Andrey Baranov and Artiom Shishkov will be accompanied on piano by Dasha Moroz.