Sacred Truths in a Profane World
In America and across Europe, the business of government has been detached from religious faith. This detachment is made explicit in the First Amendment to the US Constitution,…
In America and across Europe, the business of government has been detached from religious faith. This detachment is made explicit in the First Amendment to the US Constitution,…
The ear is a biological phenomenon; but the human ear is also a cultural product. It has a history, a perspective and an interest of its own.…
The Ring of the Nibelung, Wagner’s great cycle of operas exploring the origin of consciousness and the birth of the human world begins in the depths of the river…
The disappearance of the bourgeoisie has led to a crisis in the arts. How can we track down the defeated remnants of the philistine class, in order to…
In the past, our musical culture had secure foundations in the church, in the concert hall, and in the home. The common practice of tonal harmony united…
*Note from Editor: Sir Roger Scruton died on January 12, 2020. I had the privilege of studying with him just prior to his death. January also marks…
The Ring of the Nibelung, Wagner’s great cycle of operas exploring the origin of consciousness and the birth of the human world begins in the depths of…
I am greatly encouraged by this initiative of actually bringing into public awareness just what matters about the symphony and what its place in modern cities should be,…
I grew up in post-war Britain, at a time when people were beginning to treat the radio as a daily companion, when long-playing records were edging their…
There is a kind of listener who first becomes acquainted with the symphony orchestra through film music. And many such listeners want to hear the music again—willingly…
For the truly great projects, architects are necessary, and can take credit for magnificent structures like London’s St Paul’s Cathedral and Istanbul’s Suleymanyie Mosque. Nevertheless, most architects…
It has been widely accepted for a hundred years, and in any case since Oswald Spengler’s Decline of the West, that ‘the West’ denotes a comprehensive form of…
So wrote Milton, describing the love between Adam and Eve, and its expression in their faces. The smile, for Milton, was proof that we are made in…
Let me say a few things about art and truth first of all. The Enlightenment — by which I mean that mass of thinking and idea-mongering that…
Twenty five years ago I took up a position as University Professor at Boston University. I was asked to teach a graduate seminar on the philosophy of…