David Lefort: French Melody and a Ray of Hope for Lebanon
Alain E. Andrea 21/02 16:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Between August 2024 and February 2025, Beit Tabaris was enveloped in a forced silence – one of waiting, anxiety, uncertainty and agony. The kind imposed by wars that crush souls and dictate their laws. Alas. Where, not long ago, music gathered souls, only the rubble of a broken harmony remained. Beirut, the eternal beloved, seemed to be quietly ...
Maria Tipo: The "Neapolitan Horowitz" Now Plays for Bach
Alain E. Andrea 13/02 10:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
That day, the room was bathed in a sacred silence. Maria Tipo sat at the piano for the last time. Her fragile fingers, still brimming with the passion that defined her career, brushed the keys with infinite tenderness, as if whispering a final melody in homage to the masters who guided her: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Domenico Scarlatti ...
Chopin's Fourth Ballade: The Voice of Exile Finds Its Way Back to Warsaw
Alain E. Andrea 10/02 20:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
It was a calm winter morning in Paris in 1842. The biting wind blew through the cobblestone streets, spreading the season's cold. In the musician's apartment, a soft warmth emanated from the hearth: the flames danced and crackled, brilliant and lively. Leaning over his Pleyel piano, a man brought music to life. His fingers caressed the ...
When Fire Devours History, Schoenberg Rises From the Ashes
Alain E. Andrea 29/01 20:15 - Reading : 7 minute(s)
Music Art Los Angeles United States Vienna
January 2025. The scene seemed unreal. A devastating fire ravaged the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles, sweeping away everything in its path, including a major pillar of musical history. In the Schoenberg family home, Belmont Music Publishing preserved one of the greatest treasures of modern Western art music: the scores of Arnold ...
Al-Bustan Festival: A New Dawn Driven by ‘Art that Saves Humanity’
Alain E. Andrea 26/01 18:30 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
A contagious smile, tinged with pride, stretches across the lips of Laura Lahoud. Her enthusiasm is palpable, and she has no trouble showing it. As Vice President of the al-Bustan Festival, she warmly greets everyone who comes to offer their congratulations – and sometimes even their gratitude – after the press conference on January ...
Ravel’s Boléro: A Timeless Masterpiece Shadowed by Heirs’ Greed
Alain E. Andrea 23/01 16:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
In 1928, at a time when the artistic world was in full effervescence and musical experimentation was at its peak, Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) composed his Boléro (M.81), a work that would quickly become one of the most famous pieces of Western 20th-century art music. Commissioned by the Russian dancer Ida Rubinstein for a ballet, the piece ...
AIDS: From Medical Dead End to Hope for a Cure
Alain E. Andrea 22/01 21:26 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
A patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was declared in remission after undergoing an allogeneic bone marrow transplant in 2020, according to a press release from the Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Marseille (AP-HM), published on Friday, January 17. This case represents the first success of its kind in France and the eighth ...
Alzheimer’s Disease: What if the Herpes Virus Holds the Key?
Alain E. Andrea 15/01 13:10 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Alzheimer's disease (AD) represents a major public health challenge in a world where demographic aging is advancing rapidly. According to updated data from the World Health Organization (WHO) as of October 1, 2024, the percentage of the global population aged over 60 is expected to nearly double between 2015 and 2050, from 12% to 22%, representing ...
Vienna, Venice and Berlin: Musical Nationalism in New Year's Concerts
Alain E. Andrea 2024-12-31 17:15 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
The arrival of the new year is heralded by global festivities, with New Year's concerts at the forefront. These events, featuring renowned orchestras and conductors, have become key annual celebrations for music enthusiasts, offering a melodic exploration of Europe's rich musical heritage while ushering in a sense of joy and hope for the coming ...
Théo Fouchenneret: The Soul of the Piano
Alain E. Andrea 2024-12-23 19:20 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Beirut Festival Music Art France
On Sunday, December 22, nature wept over Beirut. On the way to Saint-Elie Church in Kantari, our thoughts wandered through the ruins of the capital, those gaping wounds that will bleed and ooze the horrors of war for years to come. Alas. That evening, a fine rain caressed these scars, soft and soothing, like saving kisses from angels during this ...
Francisco Fullana, a Modern-Day Paganini
Alain E. Andrea 2024-12-17 17:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Beirut, it was time—high time to shed mourning and embrace the vibrant hues of life. Finally, it was time to rebuild, both this ruined country and its wounded souls, so this city of light could once more begin to heal. The musical evening of December 16, led by Spanish violinist Francisco Fullana as part of the Beirut Chants Festival, was a ...
Baalbeck Recounts... Richter and Rostropovich, the Convergence of the Stars
Alain E. Andrea 2024-12-15 17:25 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
“It is not the path that is difficult; it is the difficult that is the path.” This aphorism from the great Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) illustrates, through its paradox, the contrast between effort and goal, discipline and freedom. This reflection is entirely fitting within the domain of classical music, especially when ...
Victor Ambros: From Skepticism to the Nobel Prize
Alain E. Andrea 2024-12-10 19:40 - Reading : 7 minute(s)
“All of my remaining realisable assets are to be disbursed as follows: the capital, converted to safe securities by my executors, is to constitute a fund, the interest on which is to be distributed annually as prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.” These were Alfred Nobel's final ...
Baalbek Recounts... Herbert von Karajan
Alain E. Andrea 2024-12-08 15:10 - Reading : 7 minute(s)
Baalbeck Festival Art Music History
“Is this truly the title?” one might wonder, as though such an article could settle for anything less than a simple yet profound headline. Herbert von Karajan. That is the title, and no other could suffice. Any qualifier would diminish its essence; any superlative would merely skim the surface, falling short of the reality it seeks to ...
AIDS: In the Footsteps of a Major Scientific Scandal (2/2)
Alain E. Andrea 2024-12-05 14:35 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
AIDS Health France United States
At the end of the 20th century, AIDS, previously unknown, spread rapidly, plunging the world into an unprecedented public health crisis. Researchers worked diligently to uncover the causes of this mysterious disease. In May 1983, Luc Montagnier and his team at the Pasteur Institute in Paris published an article in Science announcing that they had ...
AIDS: In the Footsteps of a Major Scientific Scandal (1/2)
Alain E. Andrea 2024-12-02 18:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
In the early 1980s, a previously unknown disease emerged, signaling an unprecedented upheaval in the history of global public health. It all began on June 5, 1981, with the publication in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of an article titled Pneumocystis Pneumonia—Los ...
Baalbeck Recounts... Henri Goraïeb's Starry Path
Alain E. Andrea 2024-11-28 19:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Baalbeck Lebanon France Music Art
Some souls pass through this world like a shooting star, leaving behind a light that never fades. They are born in silence and return to the original silence. On tiptoe, it is said. Henri Goraïeb (1935-2021) was one of them. A concert pianist — and, oh, what a virtuoso — he was one of those candles that burned stoically despite the contrary ...
Baalbeck Recounts... The Musical Chehabism of the Rahbani Brothers
Alain E. Andrea 2024-11-21 22:08 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Fayrouz Rahbani Baalbeck Festival Music
If a country had eyes, she would be its eyelids — fluttering like butterflies, grazing the dawn with their delicate wings to summon contemplation. A discreet yet all-consuming reflection on the landscape. The light awakens us, stirs us from lethargy, and intoxicates us. Beneath our hungry gaze, an idyllic land is instantly adorned with a ...
Baalbeck Recounts... The Dawn of an Idyllic Lebanon
Alain E. Andrea 2024-11-17 18:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Winter awakens early in Lebanon, shaken by the breath of time. Winds of violence reignite the embers of war, buried beneath the ashes of a peace that, alas, hangs by a thread. The rain turns furious, desperate, ashy and absurd. A snow of fire and blood falls, heavy and relentless. Its impudent crimson stains a humanity stripped from its soul. The ...
Baalbeck Tells Its Story: A Special Series on This Is Beirut
Alain E. Andrea 2024-11-16 16:25 - Reading : less than a minute
Amid the ancient temples of Baalbeck, war has rekindled its embers in Lebanon. A living memory of a country that once welcomed the world’s greatest artists, the City of the Sun now trembles beneath the blows of a world losing its balance. Through the genius of the Rahbani Brothers, the magic of Fayrouz’s seraphic voice, the ...
Diabetes, a disease with a bitter taste
Alain E. Andrea 2024-11-15 16:21 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by abnormally elevated blood glucose levels. Often asymptomatic in its early stages, it primarily affects the vascular system. Inadequately managed chronic hyperglycemia leads to progressive damage to blood vessel walls, resulting in microangiopathy (pathological changes in small blood ...
Climate Change: “The Wasted Time Has Been Paid in Lives”
Alain E. Andrea 2024-11-04 23:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
The 2024 Lancet Countdown report on health and climate change reveals that global warming poses an increasingly significant threat to public health. Compiled annually by researchers from various universities and UN agencies, the study highlights the multiple dangers facing the global population. “Data in this year’s report show that people all ...
Unpublished Waltz by Chopin: The Shadow of a Doubt
Alain E. Andrea 2024-11-02 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
A mysterious yet nostalgic breeze seems to lift the dust of centuries, heralding the arrival of a musical harvest. The recent announcement, made on September 19 in Leipzig, Germany, of the discovery of a seven-movement string trio likely composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) during his youth, between the mid and late 1760s, has sparked ...
Polio: The Aborted Eradication of a Preventable Disease
Alain E. Andrea 2024-10-25 15:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Poliomyelitis, or polio, is a viral disease caused by the poliovirus, which invades the nervous system and spreads primarily through contaminated water or food. Highly contagious, it affects mainly unvaccinated children under five, with symptoms ranging from mild fevers to irreversible paralysis and death. Despite extensive global efforts, polio ...
Malaria: Egypt Eradicates the Pharaohs' Disease
Alain E. Andrea 2024-10-22 17:49 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
In Egypt, malaria has long been a public health scourge. It intensified in the 20th century to become a major health issue, particularly in the rural areas of the Nile Delta, where environmental conditions favored the spread of the disease. However, a significant event occurred recently. On October 20, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced ...
Food Poisoning: The Fear on Our Plates!
Alain E. Andrea 2024-10-20 19:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
In recent weeks, Lebanon has seen a notable rise in food poisoning cases, a phenomenon that cannot be separated from the socio-economic conditions burdening the country. The war context alone increases these risks, as we will explain later. However, other factors also play a role. First, the chronic lack or shortage of electricity severely ...
Leif Segerstam, the Architect of Musical Emotions
Alain E. Andrea 2024-10-15 13:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Leif Segerstam, the Finnish maestro, passed away on October 9 at the age of 80. Known for his unconventional approach to conducting and boundless energy, he leaves behind a rich and vibrant musical legacy. Born on March 2, 1944, in Vaasa, Finland, Segerstam made a significant impact on the world of Western art music through his passionate ...
The War in Lebanon: A Catalyst for Infectious Diseases
Alain E. Andrea 2024-10-13 13:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
WHO Health epidemic displacement
With the intensification of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon finds itself at a critical juncture for multiple reasons. This crisis has resulted in devastating consequences for the country, characterized by massive material destruction, a relentless exodus of residents from war-affected areas, and an alarming decline in living ...
Nobel Prize in Chemistry: The Revolution of 'Smart' Proteins
Alain E. Andrea 2024-10-10 12:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
On October 9, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences honored Americans David Baker and John Jumper, alongside Briton Demis Hassabis, for their exceptional contributions in the field of proteins. According to the Academy's statement, Baker received half of the prize for his method of "computational protein design," which involves using computer ...
Nobel Prize in Physics: A New Era Beyond Human Intelligence
Alain E. Andrea 2024-10-08 17:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Nobel Physics Artificial intelligence
The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to British-Canadian John Hopfield (born 1933) and American Geoffrey Hinton (born 1947) for their fundamental discoveries that paved the way for "machine learning" through "artificial neural networks." Their work, conducted since the 1980s, highlights the importance of theoretical physics in the rise ...