Franz Liszt, la prima rockstar

Gymnastique

Franz Liszt, the First Rock Star

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Franz Liszt, la primera estrella del rock

Franz Liszt, pierwsza gwiazda rocka

They cry, they cry and they faint at the Beatles or One Direction concerts: they are the fans. One might think that this isn't a recent phenomenon. In the 19th century, a pianist prodigy drew big crowds. His name: Franz Liszt. Long before beatlemania, there was "Lisztomania".

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Cultural Brain Stretching

Gymnastics

Long before beatlemania, there was "Lisztomania"

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Ayn Rand was a survivor of Communism, and as a result, her writings fiercely advocate uncompromising individualism. Her high profile fans include Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Angelina Jolie.

Ayn Rand was a survivor of Communism, and as a result, her writings fiercely advocate uncompromising individualism

Ayn Rand, Capitalism Guru

In 2019, Les Indes galantes was performed at the Opera de la Bastille in Paris, hip hop style. This baroque opera, composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau, is an ode to colonial exoticism, and its reworking is the brainchild of Bintou Dembélé, the first black woman to choreograph a ballet at the Paris Opera.

In 2019, Les Indes galantes was performed at the Opera de la Bastille in Paris, hip hop style

Operatic Hip Hop: Dance Decolonised

Yurts, tipis, igloos: traditional homes are round, but most modern buildings are full of harsh right angles. In the 60s, influenced by science fiction, strange, curved creations started popping up in France. But it was a brief movement that fell out of favour.

In the 60s, influenced by science fiction, strange, curved homes started popping up in France

Why Live In a Bubble House?

California, 1962: as counter-culture boomed, Corita Kent created her first pop-art paintings. The nun and art teacher mixed Jefferson Airplane, Pepsi and Bible verses in her work. But her activism and political convictions would force her to hang up her habit.

How a nun became a counter-cultural icon thanks to her art

Corita Kent, the Pop Culture Nun

Nikola Tesla claimed to have invented a "death beam" in the 1930s, but laser has been more useful for printing out payslips than it has shooting planes out of the sky. But science fiction loved the idea. From Star Wars to Mars Attacks!, lasers slice up bodies or grind them to dust. What is the enduring appeal of deadly lasers for the SF fandom?

What is the enduring appeal of deadly lasers for the SF fandom?

Why Does Science Fiction Love Lasers?

Ever notice how utterly bizarre lions in medieval manuscripts look? It's like the artist had never been to a zoo or searched for 'lion' in Google images or something. Oh, wait...

Ever notice how utterly bizarre lions in medieval manuscripts look?

Why Are Medieval Lions So Strange?

Stadiums filled with raving fans, millions of dollars in contracts and fierce competition: esports is no longer a fad, and could even be headed to the Olympics. A look back on how it all began.

Esports is now mainstream. We take a look back at where it all began

Esport: Born in 1972?

Film director Jean Boullet was obsessed with Dracula. The vampire gained ground in popular culture in the Paris underground scene of the 50s, and Boullet was determined to create a film that captured the true creepy essence of Dracula. He decided to use shadow puppets, but the work would never see the light of day.

Film director Jean Boullet was obsessed with Dracula, even getting surgery to look like him

The Man Who Wanted to Be Dracula

The trolley problem asks, is it better to let 5 people die or choose to kill only 1? And now that problem is more pressing than ever with the advent of self-driving cars. Do they think? And what role should morality play in their decision-making process?

A self-drivng car won't just get you from A to B, it'll make crucial decisions in those life-or-death moments right before a car accident

Are Self-Driving Cars Moral?

A 1960s icon and a martial arts legend, Bruce Lee is still beloved as the king of martial arts the world over. But Quentin Tarantino may have committed the small crime of lese-majesty in his latest film. He asks: was Bruce Lee even really that good at fighting?

Was Bruce Lee even really that good at fighting?

Was Bruce Lee Actually Good at Fighting?

A tribute to nature and a classic coming-of-age film, Bambi is not just a cute Walt Disney cartoon. It first started off as a novel by Austrian writer Felix Salten, which was banned by the Nazi authorities in 1936. So why did the story of this harmless deer draw the ire of the facist censors?

Why Burn Bambi?

Statues are silent observers of our everyday lives... and most of the time they go unnoticed as city dwellers bustle from one destination to the next. But now statues are having their moment in the spotlight. When we look at the stories of the people we put on plinths, we discover painful histories and shameful, forgotten truths.

When we look at the stories of the people we put on plinths, we discover painful histories and shameful, forgotten truths

Why are Statues Controversial?

These aren't doodles: Art Spiegelman or Marjane Satrapi's books are pieces of literary art. Without boxes or bubbles, the graphic novel is now a major genre in publishing. Graphic novels have an unlikely origin story: the genre emerged from woodcutting.

These aren't doodles: Art Spiegelman or Marjane Satrapi's books are pieces of literary art

The Origin Story of the Graphic Novel

White noise to better concentrate at work, pink noise to put baby to sleep, brown noise to meditate... After ASMR, this is the latest trend catering to a society in burn out. Tune in to a sound with a tune, melody, or rhythm.

White noise, pink noise, brown noise: tune in to a sound with a tune, melody, or rhythm

Relax, Listen to Noise

Birds have inspired many great composers, and like all self-respecting performers, they improvise and only sing when they are happy. But can you call them musicians?

Birds have inspired many great composers, but can you call them musicians?

Are Birds Musicians?

Some letters never reach their destination, whether by accident or design. This missing mail is brought back to life thanks to artist Adrianna Wallis. In a high tech world saturated by data, has the art of letter writing definitively died? 

In a high tech world saturated by data, has the art of letter writing definitively died?

The Search for Lost Letters

In response to the planned obsolescence programmed by the giants of the web, artist Olia Lialina designs interactive works that revive old tech. Will she succeed in saving the Internet?

Meet the artist hacking the internet to revive old tech

Olia Lialina: The Artist Who's Saving the Internet

Degas’s The Little Fourteen Year Old Dancer hit the headlines at the Impressionist exhibition because of its shocking hyperrealism. It's found to be an ugly and crudely done piece. But the real scandal wasn't the work's reception, but the life of the young dancer herself and the treatment of her peers. 

Degas’s The Little Fourteen Year Old Dancer has a sad history behind it

Degas, Backstage at the Opera

Would you attend a gallery exhibition with the paintings turned to face the wall? Probably not. And yet curators find a huge wealth of information about the painting based off of the clues left on the back of the canvas and its frame.

Would you attend a gallery exhibition with the paintings turned to face the wall? Probably not...

The Picture Behind the Picture

We've all experienced lockdown in the past year, but one artist has been doing his own self-imposed lockdowns for years. For Abraham Poincheval, confinement is just another form of artistic expression.

For Abraham Poincheval, confinement is just another form of artistic expression

Confined for Art

In many French cities, there are feminist messages hastily pasted across the walls, denouncing rape and violence against women. They come from a long tradition of feminist protest first sparked off by Oympe de Gouges.

In many French cities, there are feminist messages hastily pasted across the walls, denouncing rape and violence against women

Street Art Takes on Patriarchy

How can an artist unblock writer's block and free themselves of the fear of the blank page? Producer and musician Brian Eno has found the solution: a card game. Called Oblique Strategie", it gave artists inspiration when they had none. David Bowie composed his unforgettable Heroes thanks to this very strange game.

David Bowie composed his unforgettable Heroes thanks to this very strange game

The Game That Saved David Bowie

If Monopoly today is a cheerful celebration of capitalism, it actually didn't start off that way. Its creator, a working class woman who barely made any money from it, had devised the game as a way of denoucing the worst excesses of unfettered capitalism. 

Let's give credit where credit is due: the creator of Monopoly was a working class woman who barely made any money from it

When Monopoly Was Anti-Capitalist

Taboo since ancient times, periods are also taboo in art. But thanks to a generation of feminist artists determined to end the shame around menstruation, period blood is making a big splash in the art world - even if social media has yet to catch up. 

A generation of feminist artists are determined to end the shame around menstruation

The Art of Menstruation

Designer Erik Spiekermann explains how he created the map for Berlin's newly unified public transport network, just after reunification and the fall of the Berlin wall.

Designer Erik Spiekermann explains how he created the map for Berlin's newly unified public transport network

How a Map Healed Berlin

Federico Fellini is renowned for his extravagant productions. On the sets, there was often a mixture of creativity and chaos. But why did the filmmaker make his actors recite numbers and pasta recipes rather than scripts?

Federico Fellini's creative process was chaotic but legendary

Carbonara Alla Fellini

At the first hint of sadness, out comes the pints of icecream and the sad power ballads. But why is listening to sad music our idea of a good time? Does sad music make us happy?

Why is listening to sad music our idea of a good time?

Why Do We Love Sad Music?

In old paintings, the subjects never smile. Up until the 18th century, every figure was sombre and strict-looking, because smiling was considered uncouth. 

In old paintings, the subjects never smile

Why Do Old Portraits Look Grumpy?

The Dreamachine is a cylinder that generates a psychedelic light that triggers strange visions in the people who look at it: it's a drug-free high. Its inventors even thought it would replace TV.

The Dreamachine triggers a drug-free high in th people who look at it

The Dreamachine Trip

In a time before social media and dating apps gay people communicated their sexual preferences to one another with a subtle code of colour-coded hankies. What is left of this practice today?

The Secret Code of Love

From Baudelaire to Cocteau to Hemingway, artists have often chosen the company of cats. This artist-animal relationship has inspired many works. Why are so many artists so obsessed with cats?

Why are so many artists so obsessed with cats?

Cats and Artists, a Love Story

Yes, football is art! And we have proof. On March 26, 1952, the France-Sweden match took place at the Parc des Princes. This was the first artificially lit football match in France. A genius painter, Nicolas de Staël, was there in the stands. The scene sparked off something special. 

Football is Art

You've probably never heard of Pamela Colman Smith, but you have seen her work. Known as Pixie, she illustrated a deck of tarot cards that went on to become world famous, and are still sold to this day. But the artist herself, a woman and a person of colour, died penniless, her name whitewashed from history. 

You've probably never heard of Pamela Colman Smith, but you have seen her work

Pamela Colman Smith, the Tarot Card Artist

We all spent a lot of time looking out the window during lockdown, but the artists always have. From Flemish paintings to Hitchcock, how does the window feature in the history of art?

We all spent a lot of time looking out the window during lockdown, but the artists always have

Art and Windows

Gymnastics - Cultural Brain Stretching

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Life is unfair. Some have perfect pitch while others can’t sing Happy Birthday in tune. Is musicality innate or cultural?

Why Do I Sing Out of Tune?

A simple hut on the Côte d‘Azur shows all of Le Corbusier’s architectural genius.

Le Corbusier and his Cabin

Conductors can gesticulate wildly when they conduct an orchestra. But have you ever wondered what exactly they are doing with their hands? And why do they use a baton?

Why Do Conductors Use Batons?

Ex-member of the Camorra, Davide Cerullo lives in La Scampia, a notoriously tough suburb of Naples. He fights the local culture of violence with the beauty of photography and poetry.

Davide Cerullo: The Just Man of Gomorra

Jan Vormann is an inventor, a sculptor and a dreamer. He wants us to bring colour into our lives by repairing our cities with Lego.

Fixing Our Cities with Lego

Mohamed Ali was aware of the power of image. A genius boxer and king of communication, he surrounded himself with the best photographers of his time and attracted the interest of the press, shaping his own iconography. So how did Muhammad Ali win the fight to control his image?

Mohamed Ali wasn't just a genius boxer, but a king of communication

Mohamed Ali: The Legend of a Fighter

Tracks dives into the world of augmented reality, avatars and hologram performances. With ABBA and others pioneering avatar performance, is nostalgia pushing technology forward? Also in the programme: Synth pop French musician Oklou and German DJ, Boys Noize.

Tracks

Holo Life - Avatars and Holograms

Being a female rapper in Morocco is difficult in what is still a male dominated society. Krtas Nssa, voted best female rapper in Morocco in 2019, has chosen to live in Belgium. Khtek decided to stay in Rabat and change mentalities from inside the country.

Girlhood - Women in Rap (4/4)

Being a female rapper in Morocco is difficult in what is still a male dominated society.

Morocco

Yetundey is originally from Leipzig and mixes styles and influences. Layla Boe wants to make the German language smoother in her music.

Girlhood - Women in Rap (1/4)

Germany

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Meet two of Poland's oldest hippies: Juliusz (92) and Krystof (77) have been living on the shores of Lake Solina, in almost total isolation and surrounded by nature and animals, for decades. But life in the middle of nowhere is increasingly hard on their aging bodies. 

Meet two of Poland's oldest hippies: Juliusz (92) and Krystof (77)

Re: An Unconventional Retirement

Behind his polite exterior lies a formidable leader with a ruthless character, ready to do anything to make China the world's leading power by the People’s Republic’s centenary in 2049. This well-documented portrait of the Chinese president gives an unprecedented insight into his politics and shows how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

A portrait of the Chinese president giving an unprecedented insight into his politics and showing how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

The New World of Xi Jinping

A region of Europe with a shared experience of communism and USSR dominance, Eastern Europe today is characterised by nations with diverse cultural and political identities.

Mapping the World

How many Eastern Europes?

Lowriding is a passion for cars where owners customise their vintage vehicles to look cool gliding along the Los Angeles boulevards. For long a male-only pursuit, more and more women are getting into it lowriding.

Geo Reportage

Lowriders of Los Angeles

To celebrate 50 years of French radio station FIP, Sting gives a special performance in the monumental surroundings of the Pantheon in Paris.

50 Years of FIP Radio

Sting at the Pantheon in Paris

Saudi Arabia is reputed to be one of the richest and most conservative nations on the planet. But how do its citizens live today?

Unknown Arabia

Saudi Arabia: The West

Millions of people worldwide suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS), an extreme and persistent exhaustion for which there is no cure. An investigation into a little known illness focusing on the experiences of three individuals suffering from CFS: Ralf, Sonja and Aileen.

ME/CFS – A Misunderstood Illness

 An investigation into little understood illness focusing on the experiences of three individuals suffering from CFS: Ralf, Sonja and Aileen.

Living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

In recent years Oman has been opening up to western tourists. What awaits them is a land of mountains, deserts, fjords, and pristine beaches.

Fairytale Oman

The Indian state of Sikkim has banned pesticides completely, allowing only organic farming. The results: healthy food and healthy soils.

ARTE Reportage

India: Sikkim - A Green New World

Vadum Minsyuk and Yuri Andreyev fled the war in eastern Ukraine in 2014. In search of a new beginning, they decided to start a new life in the Chernobyl region, close to the exclusion zone from the 1986 nuclear disaster. The dangers of radiation are better than the rockets of war.

Vadum Minsyuk and Yuri Andreyev fled the war in eastern Ukraine to start a new life in the Chernobyl region,  The dangers of radiation are better than the rockets of war for them.

Re: New Beginning in Chernobyl

Iraq in 2022: Will the emerging nation succeed in resisting foreign influence and from Iran in particular? What does the future hold for the Kurdish autonomous region? And will the USA ever really leave?

Iraq in 2022: Will the emerging nation succeed in resisting influence from foreign powers, and from Iran in particular? 

Iraq - A Sovereign Country?

Faced with more frequent and violent natural disasters caused by climate change, animals and plants are adapting. Some species, such as sharks, which are able to sense the change in atmospheric pressure of a coming hurricane, move away from danger. Others learn to live with it, such as curlews, which use the hot ash from erupting volcanoes in Papua New Guinea to incubate their eggs. A surprising and inspiring documentary about nature's survivors.

How Animals and Plants Survive

Faced with more frequent and violent natural disasters caused by climate change, animals and plants are adapting. A surprising and inspiring documentary about nature's survivors.

Natural Disasters

Pippi Longstocking, the superhumanly strong redhead with pigtails and freckles, conquers the world of classical ballet. The Swedish dancer and choreographer Pär Isberg stages Astrid Lindgren’s favourite character from the Villa Villekulla for the Helsinki opera house. The ballet music is the work of Georg Riedel and Stefan Nilsson.

From the Helsinki Opera

The Swedish dancer and choreographer Pär Isberg stages Astrid Lindgren’s favourite character for the Helsinki opera house.

Pippi Longstocking

A journey through Middle-earth, or rather New Zealand. Peter Jackson used the natural beauty of his native land to great effect in his film adaptation of J.R.R Tolkien’s classic trilogy. A tour through locations for the Shire, the Misty Mountains and Mordor… 

Cult Film Locations

A journey through New Zealand used to great effect in the film adaptation of Tolkien’s classic.

Looking for the Lord of the Rings

The United Arab Emirates includes the sci-fi like cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai with their breath taking towers and impressive beach resorts. It is also a land of expats with residents from over two hundred different nations.

The United Arab Emirates includes the sci-fi like cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. It is also a land of expats with residents from over two hundred different nations.

United Arab Emirates

Carolyn Carlson and her company bid farewell to each other in a final creation. On the Chaillot theatre stage in Paris, the legendary choreographer and performer presents The Tree (Fragments of poetics on fire), an ode to nature and the elements.

Théâtre de Chaillot

The legendary American choreographer presents The Tree (Fragments of poetics on fire), an ode to nature and the elements.

Carolyn Carlson's The Tree

A special gala concert to celebrate five years of Hamburg’s fantastic new concert hall, the Elbphilharmonie, opened on January 11 2017. The NDR Elbphilharmonie orchestra performs works by Adams, Adès and Salonen with conductor Alan Gilbert and pianist Kiril Gerstein.

With Kirill Gerstein, Alan Gilbert and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra

A special gala concert to celebrate five years of Hamburg’s fantastic new concert hall, the Elbphilharmonie.

5 Years of the Elbphilharmonie

With nearly 500,000 deaths from Covid-19, India is one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic. The second wave that swept through the subcontinent in Spring 2021 destroyed entire families and is estimated to have left behind more than 100,000 orphans.

The second wave that swept through the subcontinent in Spring 2021 is estimated to have left behind more than 100,000 orphans.

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Ayn Rand, Capitalism Guru

Ayn Rand, Capitalism Guru

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Operatic Hip Hop: Dance Decolonised

Operatic Hip Hop: Dance Decolonised

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Why Live In a Bubble House?

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Corita Kent, the Pop Culture Nun

Corita Kent, the Pop Culture Nun

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Why Does Science Fiction Love Lasers?

Why Does Science Fiction Love Lasers?

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Why Are Medieval Lions So Strange?

Why Are Medieval Lions So Strange?

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Esport: Born in 1972?

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