Category Archives: Cultural Matters

ENDNOTES, October 2020

ENDNOTES, October 2020  In this edition: Elgar in America, by Stuart Millson The Worcestershire born and bred composer Edward Elgar first visited the United States in 1905, to great acclaim. Interestingly, the traditional performance of ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ … Continue reading

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Ganging up on London

Ganging up on London Gangs of London, Sky Atlantic, series one, directed by Gareth Evans and Matt Flannery, 2020, reviewed by AR Kneen ‘You could build an empire; you could be a king’ – so Finn Wallace (Colm Meaney) informs … Continue reading

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Tricoteurs Occupy Bowes Museum

Tricoteurs Occupy Bowes Museum by Bill Hartley Barnard Castle has an earlier claim to fame. It’s the home of the Bowes Museum, incongruously perched on a valley side in what looks like a huge French chateau. In the nineteenth century, … Continue reading

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Selected Correspondence of Ronald Syme

Selected Correspondence of Ronald Syme ANTHONY R. BIRLEY, THE SELECTED CORRESPONDENCE OF RONALD SYME 1927-1939, History of Classical Scholarship, 2020, Pp. 211, reviewed by Darrell Sutton It is the opinion of many eminent classicists that Sir Ronald Syme (1903-1989) forged new … Continue reading

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ENDNOTES, August 2020

ENDNOTES, August 2020 In this edition: Brahms celebrated in Vienna – patriotic music denigrated in Britain, by Stuart Millson The city of Vienna is home to two of the world’s greatest orchestras: the Vienna Philharmonic, once conducted by Karajan, and … Continue reading

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Half-Way Through the Plains

Half-Way Through the Plains A Study of More Poems XXXV, by Darrell Sutton Half-way, for one commandment broken, The woman made her endless halt, And she to-day, a glistering token, Stands in the wilderness of salt. Behind, the vats of … Continue reading

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ENDNOTES, July 2020

ENDNOTES, July 2020 In this edition: late-romantic piano quintets by Franck and Fauré; & a classical music establishment in meltdown, by Stuart Millson The Prague-based Wihan Quartet – winners of the London International String Quartet Competition in 1991 – has … Continue reading

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Word Up

Word Up Bernd U Schipper, Proverbs 1-15, Fortress Press, 2019, Pp. i-xxvi, 1-579, reviewed by Darrell Sutton Paremiology is the branch of study that delves into the compilation of proverbs. By far the most popular wise words from antiquity are … Continue reading

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ENDNOTES, June 2020

ENDNOTES, June 2020 John Ireland et al. at the online English Music Festival;  music for horn by Peter Seabourne and Robin Holloway, reviewed by Stuart Millson With our concert halls closed and orchestras silent, the performance of classical music has … Continue reading

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ENDNOTES, May 2020

Endnotes, May 2020 In this edition: Bruckner’s Second Symphony, by Stuart Millson Anton Bruckner (1824-96), organist, Wagnerphile and symphonist, has come to represent the pure, almost naive spirit of late-romanticism. From his earliest days in the Catholic church, to the … Continue reading

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