The surname Casadesus identifies a prominent French artistic family. An integral part of the international classical music landscape, the Casadesus family remained artistically active for well over a century. Arguably, the most prominent member of the family was pianist Robert

What do you get when you mix sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate? If you have taken rudimentary classes in chemistry, you know that it is the chemical formula for gunpowder, aka black powder. Although it was first described in an

Paris, as well as being the City of Light, is, for some people, also the City of Dreams. In so many images, the city comes to life – the open vistas and city views from the Eiffel Tour, the magnificent

Recently, I introduced you to the swinging king of Thailand! King Bhumibol the Great, who died in October of 2016, was an accomplished jazz saxophonist. He founded his own band, paired up with jazz great Benny Goodman, and over a

The French novelist, poet, and playwright Jules Gabriel Verne is frequently called the “Father of Science Fiction.” Verne collaborated with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel and issued a widely popular series of adventure novels that included Journey to the Center of

It really is too bad that Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) did not have a large social network following! Throughout his long and industrious career, he wrote well over 3000 works. It’s no surprise that 18th-century critics unanimously considered him among

Located in the southern part of the historical province of Berry, south of the Loire Valley and west of Burgundy lies a region of gentle hills. And the village of Nohant, in the département of the Indre housed the family

Olivier Messiaen was long retired when he was introduced to a young Chinese composition student. Chen Qigang was born in Shanghai and raised by a family of artists. He began his musical studies at a very early age and was