Richard Wagner was not only a great and productive composer, he was also an extremely amorous man. In 1834 Wagner met Christine Wilhelmine (Minna) Planer, an actress, and in 1836 they got married. The marriage was far from successful. To the contrary, it was quite "stormy" because of Minna's and Wagner's numerous love affairs on the side. They … [Read more...]

Arthur Schopenhauer (22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was one of the greatest philosophers of the 19th century, known for his philosophy of pessimism and for his emphasis on the will. He claimed that our world is driven by a continually dissatisfied will, continually seeking satisfaction. A key focus of Schopenhauer was his investigation of … [Read more...]

"I am the most German being, I am the German spirit."Richard Wagner  Richard Wagner considered himself to be "the most German of men". He wrote such great operas as "Tristan und Isolde", "Parsifal", "Der fliegende Hollaender", "Der Ring des Nibelungen", and others. He actively participated in the revolution of 1849. He had numerous love affairs. … [Read more...]

The Irrational Genius, or Why Am I so Wise? Turbulent life of Friedrich Nietzsche  The cure for love is still in most cases that ancient radical medicine: love in return.-- Friedrich Nietzsche  Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was born on October 15, 1844 in a small Prussian town of Roecken. The date of his birth coincided with the 49th birthday of the … [Read more...]

Sometimes it feels so good to get into high antiquity and have a look at the great masters whose works are still alive and admired. The art of 15th century in Germany is marked with the period of Renaissance. The revival of fine arts of that time was intensive and full of different schools and trends. The brightest star on the Renaissance sky of … [Read more...]

When we hear the name of Albert Einstein, we mostly just think of two things: a) Genius of physics, b) E=mc2. But there is more to know about Albert Einstein than just that. Einstein was a theoretical physicist who developed the general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics). While best known … [Read more...]