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
Classical
June 9th, 2013 Venetian Theatre, Macao Richard Wagner Overture to Tannhäuser Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 Allegro non troppo Adagio non troppo Allegretto grazioso Allegro con spirito The Philadelphia Orchestra Conductor: Donald Runnicles A casino is an unlikely venue for an orchestral performance, and it’
Classical
Two hundred years ago today, Liszt Ferenc, better known to us as Franz Liszt, was born to Marie Anna Lager and Ádám Liszt in the Kingdom of Hungary. In the service of Prince Esterházy, his father played a number of instruments and counted Haydn, Hummel and Beethoven as personal acquaintances.
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
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
Classical
April 9th, 2011 Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall Rameau Dardanus suite Mozart Così fan tutte: Una donna a quindici anni Le nozze di Figaro: Giunse alfin il momento…Deh vieni non tardar Così fan tutte: Temerari, sortite…Come scoglio Exsultate Jubilate, K165 Beethoven Symphony No. 2 in D, op
Classical
Sydney Opera House, Opera TheatreSydney, AustraliaTuesday February 8th, 2011Carmen Georges BizetOpera AustraliaGuillaume Tourniaire, ConductorFrancesca Zambello, DirectorRinat Shaham, Mezzo-soprano: CarmenRichard Troxell, Tenor: Don JoséNicole Car, Soprano: MicaëlaShane Lowrencev, Baritone: EscamilloOpera Australia ChorusAustralian Opera and Ballet Orchestra In an opera of such popularity as Carmen by Georges Bizet, it wouldn’t
Leadership
Gurus and guru wannabes have made the topic of leadership a vastly profitable speaking circus supported by voluminous publications. The expansive literature on leadership devotes a large amount of space to analysing the characteristics, qualities and styles of successful senior executives. Unfortunately, this analysis is woefully irrelevant, and delivers little
Classical
The last time I saw Alexander Lazarev he was somewhat like a prancing hyperactive teenager, and nearly botched Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings at the Festival Hall in London. In the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall on June 3rd, he was a changed man. Stepping on to the stage
Leadership
Here lies the €uro A fine dream born of Lofty ideals Brought down By the brutal reality Of the difference Between rich and poor It is sometimes amazing how simple things at a personal level can become such complicated matters when raised to the national level. Paying for things we
Miscellaneous
My friend Professor Robin Stuart-Kotze has just pointed me to the following chart in Pat’s Papers: Pat comments: "The The water utility in Edmonton, EPCOR, published the most incredible graph of water consumption last week. By now you’ve probably heard that up to 80% of Canadians
Miscellaneous
The annual TED conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs is on now, lasting until February 13th. According to the description on its web site, TED is “a small nonprofit devoted to ideas worth spreading”. Founded in 1984, it started as a conference bringing together people from the areas of