Books
How It Started It was never meant to be as monumental as a colleague celebrating his 60th birthday playing multiple games on the St Andrews Links courses, but I did expect my first-ever attendance at a classical music festival to be somewhat a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Going
Culture and Countries
I was delighted to discover, in Oscar Wilde's Impressions of America, the following description: "San Francisco is a really beautiful city. China Town, peopled by Chinese labourers, is the most artistic town I have ever come across. The people—strange, melancholy Orientals, whom many people would call
Culture and Countries
We have read the book as part of our general reading curriculum, and have probably seen the TV series and the movie, so do we need to see a play adapted from Jane Austen’s celebrated novel Pride and Prejudice? And why the Gate Theatre, one of Dublin’s cornerstone
Culture and Countries
For those of you old enough to be around before personal computers became a permanent fixture in everyday life, spam had a different meaning. In 1937, the Hormel Foods Corporation introduced a meat product called “Spam”, which is still available today. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the origin of
Classical
When James Rhodes holds court in a soiree billed as “An Unconventional Recital” at the China Club in the Old Bank of China Building in Hong Kong, we are entitled to expect some fun. And we were not disappointed last night. As we seated ourselves in the dining hall cleared
Culture and Countries
The programme billed him as "The Legend". Russian conductor Gennadi Rozhdesvensky - tongue-twister of a name that gave me lots of trouble as an upstart radio announcer years ago - led the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in an all-Tchaikovsky programme on Saturday March 17, 2012. Joining him in
Culture and Countries
It seems that in 2011 alone, there were several revivals of the Oscar Wilde evergreen The Importance of Being Earnest. A casual search online uncovered productions by Roundabout Theatre Company at the American Airlines Theater in Manhattan, the Wingspan Theater Company in Dallas, and Rose Kingston Theatre in the UK.
Culture and Countries
There is no escaping the couch even, or perhaps especially, for Oxford don C. S. Lewis in the presence of the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, although he does put up a vigorous fight in defence of Christianity. Freud’s Last Session, a snapshot of an imaginary meeting between the
Classical
July 26th, 2011 Loke Yew Hall, The University of Hong Kong Igor Stravinsky Septet (1952-53) Allegro Passacaglia Gigue Milton Babbitt Composition For Four Instruments (1948) Arnold Schoenberg Suite, Op. 29 (1924-26) Ouverture [Overture] Tanzchritte [Dance Steps] Thema mit Variationen [Theme with variations] Gigue [Gigue] Hong Kong New Music
Culture and Countries
The printed media industry, like the music industry, has been under pressure in recent years. Convenient and timely electronic access to a wide variety of content has all but rendered traditional methods of delivery irrelevant. When you can get breaking news as it happens, as long as you are on
Culture and Countries
April 29th, 2011 is shaping up to be a momentous day on both sides of the Atlantic. In London, it’s the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. In Cape Canaveral, Florida, the last but one of the space shuttle missions, Endeavour, will take off at 3:47pm