Johann Strauss | By the Beautiful Blue Danube

"The Blue Danube" is the common English title of "An der schönen blauen Donau", Op. 314 / German for "By the Beautiful Blue Danube", a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II (1825-1899), composed in 1866.

Originally performed on 15 February 1867 at a concert of the Wiener Männergesang-Verein (Vienna Men's Choral Association), it has been one of the most consistently popular pieces of music in the classical repertoire.

Its initial performance was considered only a mild success, however, and Strauss is reputed to have said:

"The devil take the waltz, my only regret is for the coda - I wish that had been a success!"

Mihály Zichy | Ball in the Concert Hall of the Winter Palace during the Official Visit of Nasir al-Din Shah in May 1873-1874 | State Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Aziz Sulaymanov, 1986 | Garden by the Sea

Born in the picturesque region of Osh in the Kyrgyz Republic-Uzbekistan, Aziz Sulaymanov discovered his passion for painting at a young age, laying the foundation for a lifelong pursuit of artistic excellence.

Aziz Sulaymanov's artistic journey took flight as he honed his skills at a tailored art academy before venturing to Saint-Petersburg, Russia, to refine his craft under the mentorship of esteemed Russian artists Nikolay Evdokimov and Tuman Jumanaev.

With a keen eye for detail and a distinctive style, Aziz's paintings captivate viewers with their depth, beauty, and emotional resonance.

Czárdás - Hungarian Dance

Inscribed in 2024 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the Csárdás is a Hungarian dance that is performed by couples consisting of a man and a woman, or, in some regions, of two women.

Multiple couples participate in the dance at the same time, forming one large or several smaller circles.

Each region has its own themes, gestures and figures, which are improvised according to well-known, established rules and patterns.

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner | Czardas dancers, 1908 | Gemeentemuseum Den Haag

Adolf von Becker | Genre painter

Adolf von Becker (1831-1909) was a Finnish genre painter and art professor of German descent.

He was one of the first Finnish artists to study in Paris, who taught many of the young artists of the Golden Age of Finnish Art.

Becker was born in Helsinki, where he began his artistic studies at the newly founded Finnish Art Society Drawing School; he also studied law.

Wisława Szymborska | Hatred

See how efficient it still is,

how it keeps itself in shape -

our century’s hatred.

How easily it vaults the tallest obstacles.

How rapidly it pounces, tracks us down.

It is not like other feelings.

At once both older and younger.

René Magritte

“Il Lago dei Cigni” di Tchaikovsky

Il lago dei cigni (in russo, Лебеди́ное о́зеро) è uno dei più famosi ed acclamati balletti del XIX secolo, musicato da Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

La prima rappresentazione ebbe luogo al Teatro Bolshoi di Mosca il 20 febbraio 1877 (4 marzo secondo il calendario gregoriano), con la coreografia di Julius Wenzel Reisinger.

La trama del balletto, modellata su diverse fiabe popolari russe e tedesche, si svolge in Germania e narra la triste storia d'amore tra il Principe Siegfried e la bella Principessa Odette, trasformata in cigno da un maleficio del perfido stregone Rothbart.

Carlotta Edwards | Swan Lake

Ary Scheffer | Romantic painter

Ary Scheffer (1795-1858) was a Dutch-French Romantic painter.

Scheffer was the son of Johan Bernard Scheffer (1765-1809), a portrait painter born in Homberg upon Ohm or Kassel who had moved to the Netherlands in his youth, and Cornelia Lamme (1769-1839), a portrait miniature painter and daughter of the Dordrecht landscape painter Arie Lamme, after whom Arij (later Ary) was named.

Italian ballet dancer Jacopo Tissi in Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake"

Jacopo Tissi is an Italian ballet dancer.

Tissi was born in 1995 in Landriano, Province of Pavia.

He began dancing at age five, after seeing a ballet on television, at a new ballet school in his hometown.

He entered La Scala Theatre Ballet School in Milan when he was ten.