Roald Dahl, born on 13 September 1916 in Cardiff, has been called “one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century.” From Sophie’s adventures in the BFG and James’ journey into the Giant Peach, to Matilda’s bravery and

The Liebeslieder Waltzes Op. 52 had been a tremendous financial success for Johannes Brahms and his publisher. These compositions had perfectly capitalized on two musical trends of the mid-19th century. A popular love for dances to be played by piano

Kenneth Fuchs: Cloud Slant American artist Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) started appearing in American art galleries in the 1950s and continued her career for the next 60 years. Her field was abstract expressionism and her developments over her career changed modern

While Johannes Brahms had rightfully hoped of gaining the conductorship of the Hamburg Philharmonic, the post was given to the baritone Julius Stockhausen instead. Dejected and disappointed, Brahms made his first visit to Vienna in the autumn of 1862, staying

Published in 1962 with the approval of Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn tells the story of a typical day in the life

Jake Heggie: Statuesque American composer Jake Heggie (b. 1961) started the piano when he was seven and composing when he was 12. A commission from the San Francisco Opera led to the start of his successful opera career when he

Greg A. Steinke: EXPRESSIONS on the Paintings of Edvard Munch Edvard Munch (1863–1944) was an artist for over six decades. His final output consists of nearly 2,000 paintings, hundreds of graphics, and thousands of drawings. He was also a writer

Henri Dutilleux: Timbres, espace, mouvement (ou, La nuit étoilée) In the late 1880s, the sky at night was a point of inspiration for Vincent Van Gogh. In September 1888, he depicted a café at night in the middle of the