The new trend of village festivals In the early 4th century, Wang Xizhi (王羲之), often hailed as the greatest calligrapher of all times and best known for his running style calligraphy, wrote Lanting Xu (蘭亭集序 Preface to the Orchid Pavilion)

Five hundred years ago, on October 31, 1517 Martin Luther supposedly nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the doors of the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) in Wittenberg, railing against Catholic Church corruption (in particular against the ‘Sale of Indulgences’) dividing Christianity, and

Singing is booming. More people than ever before are joining choirs, and the physical and mental health benefits of singing are becoming widely known. Fitting music around families and a job can be hard – but excitingly, some forward-looking businesses

Today I accidentally stumbled over another rarity from the vault of unusual and singular instruments! The instrument in question—variously called “Tangent piano” in English, “Tangentenflügel” in German, “cembalo angelico” in Italian, and “clavecin harmonieux et celeste” in French—sounds like a

For over twenty years, Silvano Zanta worked in the laboratories of major piano manufacturers such as Steinway & Sons, Yamaha and Bösendorfer. In 1979 he decided to become independent and founded ZANTA Pianoforti. His small company specialized in the restoration

The alpine “Julier Pass” also known as the “Pass dal Güglia” and “Passo del Giulia” is a mountain pass in Switzerland. It connects the Engadin valley with the province of Graubünden, and provides the watershed between the basins of the

Some of the most celebrated scenes depicting madness of the mind can be found in nineteenth century opera. For example, Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti’s depiction of psychosis in Anna Bolena and Lucia di Lammermoor are still considered to be some

The current exhibition ‘Calder: Hypermobility’ at the Whitney Museum in New York City raises interesting questions about Alexander Calder’s art and its relationship to 20th century music. In his youth, Calder had shown not only an interest in art, but