In Renaissance Europe, the well-dressed man about town did his best to be the ultimate in culture and style. Style was taken care of by the clothes he wore but culture was a different matter. Because of what seems to

Sir Edward William Elgar (1857-1934) made his reputation with several large-scale orchestral works such as the ever-popular Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstances Marches, delightful Concertos for violin and cello, and two Symphonies. On the other hand, Elgar made his

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) obtained his diploma from the Vienna Conservatory at the age of 18, and he certainly had to make an important decision on his further path in music. One year before, he had completely given up the idea

The Japanese classical composer Takashi Yoshimatsu, internationally known for composing the 2003 remake of “Astro Boy,” was devastated when his close friend, the pianist Izumi Tateno collapsed on stage after playing the last note of a performance in Finland. Tateno

Combining the ancient tradition of Chinese martial arts philosophy and visual arts, world-renowned artist and UNESCO Global Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun composed award-winning orchestral scores for three films by critically acclaimed directors. The Martial Arts Trilogy celebrates three heroes and

Synesthesia is a fascinating neurological phenomenon in which the stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in another, unrelated pathway. People with synesthesia are known as synesthetes. Synesthetes might perceive sensory information, such as colors, tastes,

When we think of concertos, except in very special cases, we think of an individual instrument (violin, flute, piano) and orchestra. In the case of Catalan composer Marc Timón, he’s replaced the orchestra with a cobla. The cobla is a

In imitation of the French model, salon culture developed in Russia in the second half of the 19th century in St Petersburg. French became the language of choice, as a substantial number of French noblemen and noblewomen had fled from