Estelle Revaz: From music to politics

Galvanizing, a whirlwind of energy: we don't recommend reading it at night, as it keeps you awake. The acrobatcellist Estelle Revaz's autobiography, published by Slatkine, is a vivid portrait of the life of a young artist today, and of the daily battles that show just how grueling, difficult and yet magnificent the profession can be. We follow Estelle in the birth of her passion for music throughout her formative years between Paris and Germany. She doesn't skimp on detail: the non-musician reader might sometimes feel lost in the meticulousness with which she explains the stages of her studies and the sometimes toxic contact with her teachers, her feelings about a particular work or instrument, the pain of performing, the steps involved in finding concerts and making recordings... but this is salutary and gives a clear insight into the complexity of the profession, as well as the quantity and diversity of the work involved.

The writing is straightforward and unadorned: what counts is the testimony. The red thread that leads us through her journey is that of her emotions and feelings, as much in the stages of her career as a musician as in those of her plunge into the world of politics. It begins with the need to survive during Covid: completely independent, Estelle Revaz finds herself at home from one day to the next, with no money coming in. She recounts her experience as a citizen who went to Berne to change the law, so that the 300,000 cultural actors who were in the same situation as her could receive benefits, right up to her current involvement in the ranks of the Socialist Party. It's interesting to discover all the stages she has gone through: her testimony, just as when she talks about music, is an admirable work of popularization for understanding the workings of the Swiss political world.

Estelle Revaz: La saltimbanque, 264 p., Fr. 32.00, Slatkine, Genève 2023, ISBN 9782832112601