Q. It’s been 64 years, yet Bernard Herrman’s musical score for Hitchcock’s Psycho movie continues to feature prominently in rankings of the Top Film Scores Ever. The American Film Institute, for instance, rates Herrmann’s Psycho score at #4, after John Williams’ Star Wars, Max Steiner’s Gone with the Wind and Maurice

Q. As we (we?) skate deep into playoff season – 🏒 🥅  – cue the debates around what makes for a truly great team. The hunt is on to define that magic combination of skill, timing, unity, confidence, leadership, and luck that can take a team to triumph. What is

Q. Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) is one of our favourite composers. And, as you’ll see below, his music often features in ‘most loved composer and classical music’ charts. But, was this Semyonovo-born composer always so beloved? . A. A few days ago, Classic FM reported out on their annual ‘Classic FM

Q. Which artists have been engaging people over the last year? . A. We can find some answers in Artnet’s 2023 Intelligence Report. As they combed through searches in their Price Database, Artnet found… Top 10 Most Searched Artists. By Mid-Year 2023 i.    Pablo Picasso ii.   Andy Warhol

Q. Who are some well-known authors with pseudonyms? . A. For a litany of reasons – some personal, some driven by brutal societal biases –  authors have long tossed their birth names for noms de plume. Some of these pseudonyms have been adopted for entire writing careers, others for an

Q. If the TV overlords were kind enough to keep their feet off the gas during movie credits, we might notice one name coming up over and over again for musical score: Howard Shore. Who is he? . A. Composer Howard Shore is responsible for scoring movies from ‘Silence of

Q. It is hard to know what to make of massive cemeteries with row after row of identical, machine-polished, brown headstones. Everything is so perfectly ordered: not so many people hanging about, not so many markers to distinguish one gravestone from another. Where can we find cemeteries rich with artful mementos designed

Q. You have to listen to one TV theme song, twice a day, for a year. Which one will you pick? Which TV theme songs and pieces do people hold most dear? . A. As of writing, Ranker has over 21,000 voters choosing their favourite TV theme songs. The winners?

Q. Who was Rachel Ruysch – the painter behind so many gorgeous 18th Century Dutch floral paintings? . A. Born 1664 in the Hague, Ruysch’s colourful life included: ten children, a much coveted position as a court painter, sustained critical and financial success, and a lower profile yet supportive artist

Q. Which instrument creates the bell-like sound we hear in The Nutcracker’s ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’, Harry Potter’s ‘Hedwig Theme’, ‘It’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ from Mister Rogers, and Willy Wonka’s ‘Pure Imagination’? . A. That beautiful bell sound comes from a celeste, or celesta. When