Mikhail Kazinik is an art critic, musician, writer, poet, philosopher, director, actor, playwright, educator—and one of the most erudite people of our time. Meeting him—without exaggeration—literally turns your whole world upside down, both internal and external. In his book, he talks not only about famous composers, writers, and artists, but also about how unexpectedly the lives and creations of those who lived in different eras and countries intertwine. These interweavings of music, literature, and painting are often not immediately noticeable; but once you learn about them, you get so intrigued that you’ll want to look for parallels yourself. Because it’s incredibly interesting—because that’s how you grow: you start seeing both the world and people differently.
And which geniuses are we talking about in the book? Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Pasternak, Shakespeare, Kafka, Rembrandt, El Greco, Michelangelo…