Arts

For Christmas 1881 the Cincinnati Music Festival Association wanted to top its lackluster performance of the previous year and at the same time to upstage the festival of a rival opera company in the same city. So conductor Theodore Thomas hired the most famous prima donna of the day–Madame Adelina...

Gardening Expert: Use Pruned Materials For Winter Decoration

December 19, 2014 - 11:00am

Winter is a good time to prune many ornamentals because they are dormant, and there is less chance of introducing disease or insect problems. Instead of taking the pruned materials to the curb, though, Jeff Epping said that they can be used to decorate the yard and garden all winter long.

New Book Includes Never-Before-Published Photos Of Lincoln

December 18, 2014 - 2:00pm

The 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s death is on April 15 next year, and to commemorate the event, the editors of Life magazine have released a book of letters, speeches and pictures that aim to give a sense of who the man was. A selected 250 images are featured...

A Remarkable Christmas Present

December 18, 2014 - 11:30am

On December 18th, 1867, violinist Joseph Joachim was in Vienna and eager to get home to Hanover. He wrote to his wife Amalie about Christmas plans and a remarkable present for the thirteen-year-old son of Robert and Clara Schumann: I’m getting an early start on the twenty-third, and God willing,...

Stop the Presses!

December 17, 2014 - 11:30am

At the end of 1784, when Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach found out that his new cantata was going to cost a lot more than expected, he fired off an urgent letter to the printer: The contents of your last letter all but made me sick. Oh, how beholden I would...

Candies Shine As Festive, Delicious Holiday Treats

December 16, 2014 - 11:45am

The end-of-the-year holidays are full of wonderful foods, and some of the most delicious and festive are candies.

Out of the Jaws of Victory

December 16, 2014 - 11:30am

Perhaps it was an omen. Wagner had agreed to accept the dedication of Anton Bruckner’s new symphony. They had spent a day together, drinking beer and talking music. It was one of the happiest days of Bruckner’s life--until he forgot which symphony he was supposed to dedicate–the second or the...

What Were The Best Books Of 2014?

December 15, 2014 - 2:00pm

Boswell Book Co. owner Daniel Goldin has made his list and checked it twice. Those other end-of-year book favorites are spotty, so here’s his advice. “You don’t really know who is putting the list together. Sometimes, they might be an aggregate of several different people … and sometimes...

Professionals

December 15, 2014 - 11:30am

Robert Schumann did more than anyone else to make the music of Johannes Brahms known to the world. After Schumann’s death in 1856, his widow Clara continued to promote the piano music of Brahms by performing it in and around Leipzig. On December 15, 1861, just before the publication of...

An Easy Act to Follow

December 14, 2014 - 11:30am

As the new court pianist of Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III of France, Emil Waldteufel was expected to play dance music for the autumn house parties of the imperial family. The social occasions at the castle of Compiègne, fifty miles north of Paris, included not just the aristocracy, but...

The Right Audience

December 13, 2014 - 11:30am

At the close of the American Civil War, after a perilous concert tour of the Northern states, New Orleans-born composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk left the country for Latin America. He soon found himself in circumstances as difficult as those he had encountered at home, and he had to resort to...

The Infernal Machine

December 12, 2014 - 11:30am

On the night of December 12, 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte was on his way to attend the first French performance of Haydn’s oratorio The Creation. He showed up late, but he had good excuse. Someone had tried to kill him. Seven Breton royalist insurrectionists were in on the plot to assassinate...

It Sounds All Right

December 11, 2014 - 11:30am

Composer Hector Berlioz was born December 11, 1803, and cut a wide swath through music from the 1830s to the 1860s. In 1853 he became a best-selling author with Musical Evenings , a collection of reminiscences and anecdotes that reveal a good deal of Berlioz’ forceful personality and caustic sense...

Winter On The Farm Leaves Time For Friends, Food

December 11, 2014 - 11:00am

Winter holidays, whether spent at home in a big city or out on the farm, are a great time to connect with family and friends. According to Inga Witscher , those celebrations are even better over food. Witscher, along with her husband Joe Maurer, produces " Around The...

Milwaukee Art Museum Brings Italian Works Of Art To Wisconsin

December 10, 2014 - 2:00pm

The Milwaukee Art Museum ’s current “ Of Heaven and Earth ” exhibition features 500 years of Italian painting from Glasgow Museums, a rare treat for art lovers in the U.S. “Some art historians have to wait a lifetime to see some of these pieces,” said Tanya Paul, the museum's...

Twigs, Seeds Key For ID-ing Winter Trees

December 10, 2014 - 11:00am

Tree identification always takes a certain degree of knowledge to do correctly — and in winter, the task is made even trickier. Christopher Earle , an ecologist whose specialties include forest ecology and conifer biology, said that normally leaves would be a good place to start in narrowing...

Consumer Reports Editor Suggests Staying Away From Gift Cards This Holiday Season

December 9, 2014 - 4:45pm

You want them. Someone on your shopping list wants them. But should you buy them? Over the years, gift cards have become increasingly popular holiday presents, and this year promises to be no different. According to an recent survey by the National Retail Federation, the average person will spend $172...

Especially In Winter, Downtown Racine Lacks Access To Fresh Food

December 9, 2014 - 3:15pm

According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, most of downtown Racine is a food desert — and as the seasons change, access to healthy food can become even more difficult.

The Rebellious Prince

December 9, 2014 - 11:30am

King Frederick the Great of Prussia was one of the great patrons of music, but in his early years he suffered for his art–and so did others. His father, Friedrich the First, was so steeped in military matters that he tried to squelch young Frederick’s fondness for the fine arts...

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The Nettlesome Messiah

Gardening Expert: Use Pruned Materials For Winter Decoration

New Book Includes Never-Before-Published Photos Of Lincoln

A Remarkable Christmas Present

Stop the Presses!

Candies Shine As Festive, Delicious Holiday Treats

Out of the Jaws of Victory

What Were The Best Books Of 2014?

Professionals

An Easy Act to Follow

The Right Audience

The Infernal Machine

It Sounds All Right

Winter On The Farm Leaves Time For Friends, Food

Milwaukee Art Museum Brings Italian Works Of Art To Wisconsin

Twigs, Seeds Key For ID-ing Winter Trees

Consumer Reports Editor Suggests Staying Away From Gift Cards This Holiday Season

Especially In Winter, Downtown Racine Lacks Access To Fresh Food

The Rebellious Prince

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