Simon Nicholls – författare

Each generation has its own master composers, authors, writers. Names and faces come and go in that virtual Pantheon; and many faces return with new aspects. Alexander Scriabin was a cause of controversy during his lifetime and directly after his legend-inducing sudden, early death. Unlike that of many figures from pre-revolutionary Russia, his reputation survived the social cataclysm; the breadth of interpretation in Soviet criticism alone, from straightforward heroic mythmaking to competing methods of technical analysis, bears witness to an artistic personality far beyond the "elf" celebrated by his contemporary, the poet Balmont. But does he still measure up to the other pole of Balmont's dual appellation, the "Titan"?No composer has suffered more from fixed ideas than Scriabin. Was he mad? What was his attitude towards women, towards sex? What music (if any) did he admire? This last rephrases Stravinsky's rhetorical question about Scriabin's roots. Here, an international team of leading experts examines Scriabin from the viewpoints of musical analysis, social background, literary and artistic affiliations, religion and spirituality, especially the relevance of Hinduism and Sufism.Rethinking Scriabin seeks answers through well-documented research towards a rethought attitude to the artist, the man and his world.

FROM THE TEAM BEHIND BBC RADIO 4'S AWARD-WINNING NATURE AND COMEDY SERIES NATURE TABLEDid You Know That...A housefly buzzes in the key of F?A cockroach can live for a week without its head, before dying of starvation?Slugs have four noses? So, if you thought that couldn't get slimier, now imagine them with a cold ...The fingerprints of a koala are so indistinguishable from humans that they've been confused at a crime scene?During its lifetime, a cow can produce nearly 200,000 glasses of milk? Which is extraordinary, because where is it getting all those glasses?The natural world is an amazing, compelling and funny place: a place where fact is always more staggering - and often funnier - than fiction. Based on BBC Radio 4's hit science and comedy series Nature Table, and with a foreword from the show's presenter, Sue Perkins, A Housefly Buzzes in the Key of F is a celebration of the astonishing everyday occurrences that happen right under our noses. With fascinating facts from the programme's expert guests along with big jokes, witty anecdotes and fun games, this bumper collection showcases our planet's flora and fauna in all its remarkable and surprising glory.