The fourth huge limestone figures on the Wall of the Reformation in the Parc des Bastions in Geneva is of John Knox. Why should the leader of the Scottish Reformation be commemorated in Geneva ? In fact, he did spend a short time there. Very little is known about his early life. Those who have studied the subject assume that he was born into a farming community to the east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in about 1514. It is equally assumed…
If you listen to classical music on the radio, you will hear the name of Ansermet, the conductor, mentioned almost as many times as Stravinsky, the composer. The name of Ansermet is also inseparable from that of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. A modest, upright, uncompromising, and stubborn man, Ernest Ansermet hated celebrity. Nevertheless, he became one of the most famous conductors of the twentieth century. There is a style of orchestral performance typical of Ansermet. Ernest Ansermet…
