She was considered Herbert von Karajan’s favorite singer, was a friend of Maria Callas, and grew up with Luciano Pavarotti: Mirella Freni.
Karen Blixen: The Storyteller
How does it feel to sit in your house in the evening and wait for the rain to water your coffee plants? Karen Blixen knew.
Ayrton Senna: A man of charisma (5.)
The 1989 Formula One World Championship was dominated by changes: From now on, turbochargers were no longer allowed – Honda was forced to rely on naturally aspirated engines. In the previous season, naturally aspirated engines were still disadvantaged on the racetrack: Those who drove naturally aspirated engines usually trailed the turbochargers.
Honda, however, developed a naturally aspirated engine that was in no way inferior to a turbocharger – except in driving comfort. The driving experience of the turbocharged McLaren MP 4/4 was gone.
Ayrton Senna: A man of charisma (4.)
Senna’s dream of becoming world champion with the Lotus team was over in 1987: Although he was now driving on Honda engines, which gave him an advantage, the environment at Lotus no longer suited Ayrton Senna.
Senna already had plans, but his team had anticipated Senna’s steps: Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet was signed by Lotus for the 1988 season – Senna was not informed in advance. Since Senna did not have a deal with another team at that time, his future was uncertain…
Ayrton Senna: A man of charisma (3.)
It was June 3, 1984: The sixth race of the 1984 Formula One World Championship was on the calendar – the 42nd Grand Prix Automobile de Monaco attracted thousands of spectators to the principality. Ayrton Senna had by then joined the Toleman team in Formula One.
Fritz Wunderlich: The Century Tenor (4.)
It was in June 1963 that Fritz Wunderlich caused a small scandal in his hometown Kusel: In a television broadcast, Wunderlich referred to his home town of Kusel as “a little nest in the Palatinate.” The people of Kusel took this as an insult – it took less than 24 hours for Fritz Wunderlich to learn of the uproar…
Ayrton Senna: A man of charisma (2.)
Senna followed his father’s wishes: He enrolled at the University of São Paulo to study economics. His studies lasted three months, then he dropped out.
Twenty-year-old Senna didn’t like university – he knew he was born to race.
Fritz Wunderlich: The Century Tenor (3.)
At the end of January 1960, Fritz Wunderlich met Herbert von Karajan for the first time: in a performance of Mozart’s Requiem with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wunderlich earned the praise of the Berlin press:
Ayrton Senna: A man of charisma (1.)
It was May 1, 1994: The world stood still. People were in a state of shock. It was the day the sun fell from the sky, as Gerhard Berger put it. His friend and racing colleague Ayrton Senna, the role model of a generation of racing drivers, had died in an accident at the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola.
Fritz Wunderlich: The Century Tenor (2.)
The Freiburg Academy of Music, where Fritz studied from 1950 on, had only been founded shortly after the end of the war. At first Fritz was not sure whether he could make a living with singing. In the first three semesters, Wunderlich concentrated primarily on studying the horn.