Music History
The glorious Ninth
Relive the moments when music changed forever
Singers have a voice, too
Study of the Western canon is often reduced to a politicised debate: power and patronage versus individual genius. The truth is far more complex
Fifth magician blues
He made the tea, he forged the autographs, and only once did he run out of plectrums
What’s missing in Bradley Cooper’s Maestro
The film should not have ignored the political and musical context to Bernstein’s life
Notes of promise
Bruce Liu: Waves (Deutsche Grammophon)
Too formal for the pub
Mr Händel im pub: Baroque meets folk (Arcantus)
The bats have left the bell tower
What happened to goths?
Violent delights
It’s 30 years since Pulp Fiction hit cinemas, and what a time it was to be young
What are our cathedrals for?
Changes to the management of cathedrals have obscured the very point of their existence
The lonely end of a political failure
Leo Varadkar rode to power on a wave of optimism and is disappearing in a puff of disaffection
March 2024: Letters to the Editor
Record-setting sons and founding fathers
Politics with the depth of a puddle
A month of politically-minded podcasts has reached its exhausting apogee
Kilkenny’s golden age
A fascinating exploration of Irish history could have been better and more comprehensively illustrated
Down the primrose WPATH
Responsible medical authorities must reject the dangerous nonsense of gender-affirming care
Cognition porn and discursive dehumanisation
Cultural and political discourse can follow the reductive yet seductive logic of pornography
Poor old Carmen
This update of a classic from the Royal Opera House is a reminder of why messing with great pieces is so risky
Light from darkness
Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family and Social Class by Rob Henderson
Higher education, lower standards
Why are our universities in decline?
