In Defense of Elitism
There is a very famous phrase, “the tyranny of the majority,” that was introduced into political discourse by two near contemporaries in the nineteenth century. Alexis de…
Tonality Now: Finding a Groove
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.…
How Bad Philosophy Destroyed Good Music
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…
The Assault on Opera
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…
T.S. Eliot as Conservative Mentor
*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…
Reflections on “The Ring of the Nibelung”
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…
Music and the Transcendental
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,…
The Heart of Music
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…
Redeeming Film Music From the Avant-Garde
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…
The Problem With Architectural “Genius”
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…
Renewing and Rejecting: Comparing Architecture and Music
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…
Smiles from Reason Flow
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…
The True, the Good and the Beautiful
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…
Teaching Judgement
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…
The Music of the Future
Important composers, from Schoenberg and Stravinsky to Ligeti and Stockhausen, have been premiered in this place and before this audience. Along with Darmstadt, Donaueschingen has helped to…