Ukraine’s most famous rock star is singing for victory
For Slava Vakarchuk, rock‘n’roll is warfare by other means
A LITTLE GIRL sings “Let It Go” in a bomb shelter. A cellist plays alone in a ruined city. The chorus of the Odessa opera performs Verdi in the open air. The clips of Ukrainians making music in adversity are among the war’s most poignant: the melodies seem at once ephemeral and indomitable, ordinary and defiant. In one video, a stubbly man in a hoodie sings for an entranced crowd taking shelter in Kharkiv’s metro. Gradually the listeners join in, as if in a rite.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “The man in the arena”
From the April 2nd 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Culture
Sex, drugs or chastity?
Pope Francis has written the first memoir by a sitting pope. God help us
Backpacks are, surprisingly, in vogue
They are following in sneakers’ path and becoming more fashionable
Spotify’s playlists have altered the music industry in unexpected ways
A critical assessment of the Swedish streaming giant’s musical legacy
Henri Bergson was once the world’s most famous philosopher
He sought to reconcile science and metaphysics
Witty and wise, “A Real Pain” is a masterpiece in a minor key
Jesse Eisenberg’s deceptively slight film asks big moral questions
Now it’s all about TikTok. But Huawei led the way
The Chinese telecoms firm was the first to raise America’s hackles