Reading for Battle
Battle Readings is a regularly updated compilation of articles, essays, and opinion pieces relevant to the themes of the Battle of Ideas.
Choose a theme from the listing on the left to narrow your search, or view all readings.
Arts & Culture
Am I the only fan of modern classical music?
People expect melody and emotion from their music; but just because modern classical doesn't conform to this doesn't make it worthless
Paul Kilbey, Independent, 12 October 2012
People expect melody and emotion from their music; but just because modern classical doesn't conform to this doesn't make it worthless
Paul Kilbey, Independent, 12 October 2012
The Anglo-Saxons are coming!
Over the last six months I have come to see that the Anglo-Saxons were more subtle, more sophisticated, more human and more important in terms of our everyday lives today than I had ever imagined.
Graeme Kay, BBC Radio 3, 11 October 2012
Over the last six months I have come to see that the Anglo-Saxons were more subtle, more sophisticated, more human and more important in terms of our everyday lives today than I had ever imagined.
Graeme Kay, BBC Radio 3, 11 October 2012
Classical CD for newborns to inspire a love of music
Every newborn baby in Scotland will receive a classical CD to inspire a love of music.
BBC News, 11 October 2012
Every newborn baby in Scotland will receive a classical CD to inspire a love of music.
BBC News, 11 October 2012
Music and wellbeing
As the UK’s number one organisation for voluntary music, we feel passionately that the more music people make together, the healthier and happier we all are.
Making Music, 10 October 2012
As the UK’s number one organisation for voluntary music, we feel passionately that the more music people make together, the healthier and happier we all are.
Making Music, 10 October 2012
Choirs are magical - but should they be a social tool, too?
There's a risk that in using choirs for everything from helping fragmented communities to stress relief, we drag them down to the level of the mundane
Niall Crowley, Independent Voices, 10 October 2012
There's a risk that in using choirs for everything from helping fragmented communities to stress relief, we drag them down to the level of the mundane
Niall Crowley, Independent Voices, 10 October 2012
The Classic Brits are Not What's Wrong With Classical Music
Classical music is obsessed with the past to the point that it believes in its own death - or at least it's sufficiently concerned about its health to feel threatened by an event as irrelevant as the Classic Brits.
Paul Kilbey, Huffington Post, 9 October 2012
Classical music is obsessed with the past to the point that it believes in its own death - or at least it's sufficiently concerned about its health to feel threatened by an event as irrelevant as the Classic Brits.
Paul Kilbey, Huffington Post, 9 October 2012
At last: the Classic Brit Awards exposed as a sickening crime against classical music
The truth is that there is simply no need to go down the Classic Brit route. What you are in effect saying with this monstrous spectacle is that Joe Public is too uncultured, too dense, too stupid to deal with an unedited, beautifully played Chopin mazurka, Mendelssohn concerto or Beethoven sonata.
James Rhodes, Daily Telegraph, 8 October 2012
The truth is that there is simply no need to go down the Classic Brit route. What you are in effect saying with this monstrous spectacle is that Joe Public is too uncultured, too dense, too stupid to deal with an unedited, beautifully played Chopin mazurka, Mendelssohn concerto or Beethoven sonata.
James Rhodes, Daily Telegraph, 8 October 2012
Bach Is Still Revving Up Engine of Musical Innovation
"This is a book about the music of Bach and the ways it has been reinvented in our time"
Anthony Tommasini, New York Times, 7 October 2012
"This is a book about the music of Bach and the ways it has been reinvented in our time"
Anthony Tommasini, New York Times, 7 October 2012
Great literature should stay on all reading lists
A knowledge of Chaucer, Shakespeare and tales of Greece and Rome is necessary to understand our own culture
Hannah Betts, Guardian, 7 October 2012
A knowledge of Chaucer, Shakespeare and tales of Greece and Rome is necessary to understand our own culture
Hannah Betts, Guardian, 7 October 2012
Shock of the old
Frieze Masters offers a fresh perspective on historical art by highlighting the dialogue between the old and the new
Susan Moore, Financial Times, 5 October 2012
Frieze Masters offers a fresh perspective on historical art by highlighting the dialogue between the old and the new
Susan Moore, Financial Times, 5 October 2012
Doting Dads
"The Battle of Ideas is a weekend like no other. I found the 2011 festival immensely stimulating. It gave me a great deal to think about, and a whole new list of books to read - from Virgil to Vygotsky. On to greater battles in 2012!"
Ken Macleod, award-winning science fiction writer; author, The Restoration Game and Intrusion
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