Piano piano à Florence

Florenz: Piano piano!

Piano in Florence

"Piano piano" en Florencia

Florencja, ojczyzna pianina

Firenze: la "culla" del pianoforte

It was in Florence that the very first piano was developed. Although it was the sound that would take over music for centuries to come, at first, it was greeted with contempt. It was an ugly sound in comparison to the harpsichord, musicians said.

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History's Curiosities

City Country Culture

It was the sound that would take over music for centuries to come, but at first, the panio was greeted with contempt

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Shortly before the Second World War, Mussolini chose an island paradise as a place of exile for people who violated the moral codes of their time.

Mussolini's Gay Island

Close to New York, in New Jersey lies the small town of Orange with an important industrial heritage. In the early 20th century a radium painting factory put their employees in danger leading to a major scandal.

USA: The Radium Girl Scandal

Known as the White City, Merida, the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán attracts tourists in search of Maya ruins and haciendas dating from the golden age of the Spanish conquest. But in the 1920s, another aspect attracted foreigners: divorce tourism.

Yucatan: Divorce Mexican Style

The Indian capital New Delhi is home to an architectural gem: the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Built at the start of the 20th century, it is now the official residence of the President of India. In the 1920s, it was be the setting for a love story, doomed from the start.

The Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Dehli was the backdrop for a 1920s love story, doomed from the start

New Dehli: Nehru's Lost Love

Atop the Art Deco Bacardi building, a bronze bat watches over Havana. Headquarters of the famous rum company, the building was, when it opened in 1930, the largest in the whole of the capital. But thirty years later, the Bacardi family would flee when Fidel Castro came to power.

The Art Deco Bacardi building in Havana is a story of fortune, loss, and communism

Cuba: Rum Wars

At the Bosnian Cultural Centre in downtown Sarajevo an unusual event took place in 1993 during the terrible siege of the city: A beauty pageant.

Miss Sarajevo

In 1967, Sweden flipped a switch: no longer would the country drive on the left like in the UK, it would drive on the right, like the rest of Europe. This simple change was a mammoth undertaking.

In 1967, Sweden flipped from driving on the left to the right: a simple change was a mammoth undertaking

How Sweden Learnt to Drive on the Right

In Palermo, in the 17th century, one woman concocted the cure to an unhappy marriage: an un traceable poison. 

In Palermo, in the 17th century, one woman concocted the cure to an unhappy marriage: an un traceable poison

Palermo: The Poison of Matrimony

In the hills behind Barcelona lies the district of Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, an area with breathtaking views over the Catalan capital. In the Spanish Civil War this area was home to ‘checas’, notorious detention centres used for interrogation by the republican side with modern art used as a means of torture.

Barcelona: When Art Hurts

The Chamonix valley is home to the tallest peak in Europe and is popular with climbers.  In the 19th century it was an English heiress who attempted a seemingly impossible climb: Mont Blanc in winter

 In the 19th century it was an English heiress who attempted a seemingly impossible climb: Mont Blanc in winter

Mont Blanc: An Impossible Climb

In September 1968 a strange phenomenon took hold in the heart of America’s financial district: Huge crowds of men turned out on Wall Street to watch one women walk from the subway to her office.  

Francine Gottfried: The Woman Who Stopped Wall Street Traffic

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Tempelhof, Berlin’s disused airport close to the city centre has been housing refugees in a welcome centre since 2015. A focus on residents’ daily lives of waiting for applications to be processed and for dreams to become reality.

Berlin Tempelhof

Tempelhof, Berlin’s disused airport close to the city centre has been housing refugees in a welcome centre since 2015. A focus on residents’ daily lives of waiting for applications to be processed and for dreams to be made reality.

Field of Dreams

As a show of solidarity, Europe is displaying the colours of Ukraine, a country whose desire for democracy and freedom is perceived as a danger by Vladimir Putin's Russia. The pursuit of freedom is the subject of this episode of Twist. A desire shared by artists from all over the world.

The Pursuit of Freedom

The pursuit of freedom is the subject of this episode of Twist. A desire shared by artists from all over the world.

Twist

Since 1945 the democracies of Europe have lived in peace. But the Russian invasion of Ukraine has shattered our ideas of peace. Can we still dream of paradise and a future free of violence? Twist explores these ideas in Berlin and at the Venice Biennale.

Paradise Lost?

Can we still dream of paradise and a future free of violence? Twist explores these ideas in Berlin and at the Venice Biennale.

A look at the tormented life of Clara Haskil (1895-1960), and the dazzling purity and fluidity of her unique sound. Her 10 year professional career was short but disproportionately influential.

The Magic of Interpretation

A look at the tormented life of Clara Haskil (1895-1960)

Clara Haskil

Is Saint Thomas' touching of Jesus' wounds homoerotic? It's certainly in stark contrast to Mary Magdalene, who is told not to touch him and spends the rest of her life living in a cave.

The incredulity of Saint Thomas - Caravaggio

Is Saint Thomas' touching of Jesus' wounds homoerotic?

Look but Don't Touch

Triple Grammy Award Winner Angélique Kidjo was born in Benin. Her musical roots lie between South African music and Jimi Hendrix. Y'akoto has Ghanaian roots and grew up in Hamburg. And Nneka came to Germany aged 18, the daughter of a Nigerian father and German mother. Each woman explores each of her cultures, and uses them as a source for their unique sound.

Angélique Kidjo, Nneka, Y'akoto

Each woman explores each of her cultures, and uses them as a source for their unique sound

Soul Ladies

An author once described this work as a portrait of a woman done by a painter who had forgotten to paint the feet, legs, thighs, stomach, hips, chest, hands, arms, shoulders, neck and head. 

The Origin of the World by Gustave Courbet

In the 1980s, a Japanese television channel financed the restoration of the Sistine Chapel and during that restoration, workers discovered the garish colours and parts of the body that had since been covered up. So which version of the painting is more important to preserve?

Original Sin by Michelangelo

The Sistine Chapel could have looked very different...

Depictions of Venus and nude women in general in art can be considered objectifying and insulting. In 1914, a suffragette even slashed a painting in the National Gallery in protest. But Venus is perhaps more inclusive than she looks at first glance. 

Aphrodite's Child

Depictions of nude women can be objectifying and insulting. But Venus is perhaps more inclusive than she looks

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Drockick Murphys are perhaps the most Irish of American bands. The Bostonians baptize their new album Turn Up That Dial at Hellfest 2022.

Hellfest 2022

Dropkick Murphys

As soon as weightlessness sets in in Earth orbit, everything floats, including bodily fluids. Most astronauts suffer from space sickness – similar to seasickness. You get sick, your eyes go crazy, your face swells up, your legs get longer and after a few sleepless nights (there is no day or night in space) many astronauts get severe back pain. Space researchers are trying to understand how the human body reacts without gravity. Could we need it to live?

Are We Ready for Mars?

What would happen to our bodies if we were all suddenly exposed to weightlessness in space?

42: The Answer to Almost Everything

Punk rock fans note: The Offspring have released a new album: The Californians perform tracks from their latest work at Hellfest, Let the Bad Times Roll.

The Offspring

Brazilian cult band Sepultura is back at Hellfest! They unleash their intense thrash metal in front of a white-hot audience.

Sepultura

What does it mean to be a man in the modern world? Jan goes in search of answers on the streets of Berlin where he meets barbecue grillers, American football players and queer foresters.

Be a Man! - But How?

Streetphilosophy

Known for their incandescent, fiery performances, Swedish black metal band Watain perform their pyrotechnics at Hellfest 2022.

Watain

JInjer are Ukraine’s official ambassadors of metal. Led by the voice and charisma of singer Tatiana Shmayluk, they are bringing their special blend of progressive groove metal to the world.

Jinjer

According to the myth, the Greeks managed to enter the city of Troy by building a wooden horse in which was hidden Greek soldiers. How much of this story is based on actual historical events? And if the story is true, was it even a horse?

The Mystery of the Trojan Horse

The Russian enclave of Kaliningrad sits between Lithuania and Poland. Once German East Prussia, it is now home to 1 million Russian citizens. What is life like in this small territory now practically cut off from its EU neighbours since the war in Ukraine began?

Kaliningrad: Putin's Enclave

The Russian enclave of Kaliningrad sits between Lithuania and Poland and is now practically cut off from its EU neighbours since the war in Ukraine began.

ARTE Reportage

Hellfest invites a heavyweight of crossover and thrash metal: Los Angeles natives Suicidal Tendencies make the main stage tremble!

Suicidal Tendencies

The ‘Operation Hotel’ revelations back in 2018 revealed that the Ecuadorian government was spying on Julian Assange, taking refuge in their London embassy at the time. But recent evidence from Spanish authorities suggests that it was in fact American intelligence that sponsored the surveillance. With the USA currently trying to extradite Assange from his London prison to be tried for the disclosure of hundreds of thousands of top-secret documents on WikiLeaks, the global Assange story, murkier than ever, is ongoing.

Global Assange

The WikiLeaks founder is currently fighting extradition to the US where he faces charges that could result in a 175 year prison sentence

With their latest album Soul on Fire, The Last Internationale brings a rebellious spirit to the main stage of Hellfest 2022.

The Last Internationale

Drugs have a bad press. But scientists have long been convinced that the use of psychedelics can sometimes be beneficial. The use of ecstasy, LSD and other hallucinogens could soon be authorised for therapeutic purposes. Should we change our relationship to certain drugs?

Are We Doing More Drugs?

Scientists have long been convinced that the use of psychedelics can sometimes be beneficial.

The trio led by Matthew Bellamy is one of the most explosive and creative forces in rock music over the past two decades. There is no one else quite like Muse. Be impressed by their committed performance at Berlin’s Tempelhof Sounds Festival.

Tempelhof Sounds 2022

 There is no one else quite like Muse. Be impressed by their committed performance at Berlin’s Tempelhof Sounds Festival.

Muse

In Jordan, on the site of one of the world's first settlements, archaeologists have unearthed treasures including a sumptuous pearl necklace for a little girl. An object that provides clues about life in the Neolithic period.

Neolithic Treasures from Jordan

In Jordan, on the site of one of the world's first settlements, archaeologists have unearthed treasures including a sumptuous pearl necklace for a little girl. 

The Mysterious Stone Age Village

Just a few weeks before the release of their new album, The Sick and the Dying… and the Dead! Thrash metal stars Megadeth perform at Hellfest 2022.

Megadeth

Pittsburgh punk band Anti-Flag have been going strong since the late 1980s. They bring their anthemic sound at Hellfest 2022.

Anti-Flag

The Staatsoper Hamburg’s new production of Gaetano Donizetti’s opera buffa "Don Pasquale" is directed by David Bösch.The plot of this turbulent comedy turns on the title character and his nemesis sung by Italian baritone Ambrogio Maestri and Australian soprano Danielle de Niese respectively.The Philharmonische Staatsorchester Hamburg will be conducted by Matteo Beltrami.

From the Staatsoper Hamburg

David Bösch stages Gaetano Donizetti’s comic opera "Don Pasquale".

Gaetano Donizetti: Don Pasquale

Fisherman Darren Kenyon is from Grimsby in north-east England. Like 70% of the people in the area, he voted for Brexit in the hope for a better deal for the fishing sector. But so far nothing has improved for the industry and the wider region. Former Boris Johnson supporters feel cheated.

Fisherman Darren Kenyon is from Grimsby in north-east England. He voted for Brexit in the hope for a better deal for the fishing sector. But so far nothing has improved.

Re: British Fishermen and Brexit

It has its own currency, flag and government. Yet the state of Transnistria is not recognised by the international community. Wedged between Ukraine and Moldova, 450 kilometres long and a few dozen kilometres wide, it claimed independence in 1990.

Transnistria: Back to the USSR

It has its own currency, flag and government. Yet the state of Transnistria is not recognised by the international community.

City Country Culture

History's Curiosities

City Country Culture

Mussolini's Gay Island

USA: The Radium Girl Scandal

City Country Culture

Yucatan: Divorce Mexican Style

City Country Culture

New Dehli: Nehru's Lost Love

City Country Culture

Cuba: Rum Wars

City Country Culture