1913. Summer of a Century

This is a chronicle of the last peaceful year before the First World War, during which many events took place that became significant for the culture of the 20th century. In 1913, Proust's novel "Swann's Way" was published, Spengler began working on "The Decline of the West", the scandalous Parisian premiere of Stravinsky's ballet "The Rite of Spring" and a concert of dodecaphonic music by Schoenberg took place, the first version of Malevich's "Black Square" was written, the first Prada boutique opened, Louis Armstrong picked up the trumpet, Stalin came illegally to Vienna, and Hitler, on the contrary, left it. The author, a German critic and essayist, who during the last crisis changed his place of work from a newspaper to an auction house, and his range of interests - from acute topicality to old art, created a fascinating panorama of the lively cultural life of the time of the birth of modernism. The press called the book a “massive teaser” of the 20th century and the most vivid reminder of how what seemed like a given turned out to be fragile, even defenseless.