On 5 February 2019, we say goodbye to the Earth Dog, and welcome the year of the Earth Pig. Since it takes 60 years to scroll through every animal sign and element in both yin and yang aspects, this closes

There, in the shadows, a figure moves. Clothed in black, with a face seemingly drained of all life and colour, with long fingernails the better to catch you, it’s Count Dracula.

He was the “Wunderkind” from Lichtenstein, and she a poetess of distinction. They got married in 1867, and although the union remained childless, their marriage was a happy one. One might actually consider it the perfect relationship; she supplied the

In all, the remarkable collection of Schubert’s Lieder transcriptions by Franz Liszt totaled 58 songs. Liszt first handed twelve of these piano transcriptions to a Viennese publisher in 1838 and his concluding efforts emerged 10 years later in 1848.

From the city of Milan, Wolfgang Amadeus wrote to his sister on 26 January 1770, “I rejoice in my heart that you were so well amused at the sledging party you write to me about, and I wish you a

In 1970, American composer George Crumb completed his work for electric string quartet: Black Angels: Thirteen Images from the Dark Land.

They are so familiar, the characters in the fairy tales and we know of their attributes: the loneliness of Cinderella before her triumphal return, the bravery of Little Red Riding Hood, the cleverness of Hansel and Gretel, and so many

Fromental Halévy (1799-1862) composed roughly forty works for the Parisian state. And while La Juive of 1835 turned out to be his most successful work, Charles VI might be the most dangerous opera in the repertoire. Composed in 1843, it