I hate going to shopping malls around Christmas time. It is still a great place to meet friends, the shops are beautifully decorated, and there are many exciting bargains to be had, so why do I hate it? My dislike

The city of Atami is located in Shizuoka Prefecture, at the northern end of the Izu Peninsula. Built on the steep slopes of a partially submerged volcanic caldera, the name of the city literally translates as “hot ocean.” That name

The harpsichordist and conductor William Christie is internationally famous as the founder of “Les Art Florissants.” This vocal and instrument group, performing English, French, and Italian Baroque repertory and Classical opera, takes its name from the 1685 opera of the

In October 1878, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky resigned from his post at the Moscow Conservatoire. The resignation followed on the heels of the disintegration of his disastrous marriage to his former student Antonia Miliukova. Psychologically and sexually mismatched, the couple lived

Zoltán Kodály was born in the Hungarian city of Kecskemét on 16 December 1882. His father worked for the railroad, having risen to the rank of stationmaster by 1883. He was described as “a plump, reticent man of medium height,

Blood, sex and sceptres: two queens battle it out in Maria Stuarda Maria Stuarda (Donizetti) MusicaVivaHong Kong City Hall, Concert Hall9,10, 11 Dec 2022 An opera in two acts, Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda (1835) is about two queens, Mary Stuart and

Hidden in the decoration of medieval books are many different kinds of illustrations – some of them show people doing everyday things, others show animals doing everyday human things. And then, in some special ones, we see animals playing musical

On 2 November 1788, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach wrote to a friend, “Since 18 September I have been very ill with gout and other ailments. Now my health is beginning to improve.” However, this period of improvement was short-lived, as