Alexander Chernyshkov
Heute schrieb ich nix (Today I Wrote Nothing)

Heute schrieb ich nix is Daniil Kharms’s appearance in Alexander Chernyshkov’s Errortheater, the latter’s “music theater company for provoked misunderstandings.” Chernyshkov makes music using the tools of theater. From stage directions to stagecraft, from the auditorium to the backstage, everything finds its way into his score. He composes found sounds and situations into contrasting genre collages ranging from synth pop to Bach, through which the sounds of the world take shape as music theater.

Conceived as the “transcription of an error,” Chernyshkov’s art is a refuge right in the thick of things, and in this, it is closely related to Kharms’s poetry. Inspiration also comes from the biography of the poet, who wrote with no hope of publication throughout his life. Kharms’ life and work, created in the shadow of totalitarianism, find parallels in contemporary Russia, as well as in the sense of helplessness with which—according to Chernyshkov—everyone faces life.