Geneva, 27th November 2010. A year so dominated by the economic downturn in the West and the rise of China epitomized by the Shanghai Expo in the East, few may have noticed that this year marks the 170th birthday of

The musical genius of Beethoven, though witnessed over 200 years ago, is still deeply admired by many because Ludwig van Beethoven once described his talent saying, “I keep a thought in my mind for a very long time. I am

Bach, the composer as intellectual by Marco Moraes   But all at once it dawned on me that this Was the real point, the contrapuntal theme; Just this: not text, but texture; not the dream But topsy-turvical coincidence, Not flimsy

A tale of two cities. I have no idea when this handy name came about, but it is now used by the literati to compare pairs of cities like Shanghai and Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, Suzhou and Hangzhou, and

A crazy 2010 has come to an end. It was the year of the Shanghai Expo and vuvuzelas, of positive events and negative happenings, and not least, lots and lots of music festivals. Apart from the countless music events and

For years, my New Year’s resolutions have looked like this: Get better grades; Find a handsome boyfriend; Increase revenues in my business; Lose some weight; Get married; Have a baby; Lose more weight; More babies; You get the idea. As

The Snowman and the Bear (City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong) 5PM, Sunday 5 December 2010. Concert Hall, HK City Hall As a pre-Christmas concert for children, featuring a narration of two children’s beloved tales with muted animation and a

In 1993, Dr Frances Rauscher and her colleagues from the Centre of Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California published a letter in “Nature” magazine that shook the music world. The report suggested that listening to Mozart’s music could