The summer is a time for balloons – children’s balloons in the park, adult balloon flights in the sky, or as a part of a day’s adventure at the theme park. Historically, their beginnings are associated with the great experiments

The story of Orpheus and Euridice is one of the early stories told in opera. From the first operas in 1600 by Caccini and Peri to the 21st century, the story of the musician and his lost love was central

Betrayal is one of the most painful – and sadly, most universal – of human experiences. No matter who you are or where you come from, we’ve all been let down by friends, family, or lovers. Luckily for the betrayed,

Johann Strauss II’s evergreen An der schönen, blauen Donau (The Beautiful Blue Danube), Op. 314, wasn’t, of course, the only piece of music about the Danube. Franz Schubert, in his 1817 setting of Johann Meyrhofer’s pessimistic poem Auf der Danau,

Credit: NPR Classical

Fans of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart will likely be aware that he was taught, shaped, and influenced by his father Leopold Mozart, a violinist and composer. When Leopold began to teach his seven-year-old daughter Nannerl, in 1759, he discovered that Wolfgang

Jean-Philippe Rameau, born in Dijon and baptised on 25 September 1683, was France’s leading 18th-century composer. In his lifetime, however, he was primarily known as a music theorist. His 1722 Treatise on Harmony, establishing the development of a fundamental bass,