A Very Bad Night at the Opera
The inferno at Venice's exquisite opera house in 1996 posed an intractable mystery: was it arson? Or was the Mafia to blame? Its legacy is a bureaucratic imbroflio that has dogged all efforts to rebuild.
Read about the Plight of the Phoenix .
Feud in C Major
To the Austrians, Johann Strauss is the 'Waltz King', whose music epitomises the old-world elegance of Vienna. But the controversy over the fate of the composer's priceless legacy, looted by the Nazis and only now being returned to their rightful owner, is a reminder of a less glorious era in the city's history.
Read about the Feud in C Major.
Glittering Prize
The world-record sale in June 2006 of this Gustav Klimt portrait marked the culmination of its sensational journey from the salons of Vienna to an LA auction room, via the hands of Nazi looters. Alix Kirsta traces its story and meets the woman who fought to reclaim her inheritance.
Read about the Glittering Prize.
Martha Graham School
Martha Graham was the queen of modern dance. The New York school she founded 75 years ago is still a globally respected institution. So why is the man she left her legacy totaking steps to close it down?
Read about the Martha Graham New York School
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Did something fishy go on when the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra splashed out on some ‘great’ antique instruments?
Read about the New Jersey Symphony Orchestral
Strung Along
Gerald Segelman spent a lifetime amassing one of the world's finest collections of violins. The events that followed his death would blow the lid off the 'genteel' world of violin dealing.
Read about the violin trade.