Playing with the Possible
November 10, 2013
The future contains many possibilities. While not everything is within our control, quite a lot is. We have a say in which of the possibilities become real. Not everyone sees all that is open to them, however. Some have a greater imagination than others and can see more of the possible. Imagination is a source …
Cultural Exchange
November 2, 2013
In the last week I have travelled far. Doing so, I have eaten food I couldn’t identify, got lost on the outskirts of a city I didn’t know, listened with growing fondness to the local pop music, stood out as the only white European in a crowd, unable to speak the same language as everyone …
Solitude
October 20, 2013
A precondition for much great art is solitude. We all have a tendency towards sociability, communication and laughter, yet this tendency must be curbed if one is to make progress on worthy artistic endeavours. Writing, painting, composing, sculpting, choreographing, philosophizing and designing will all require deep concentration at some point, best achieved in loneliness. For …
The Pianist
September 22, 2013
As dusk arrived, we took shelter in the pub by the harbour. The sea air and the mist had chilled us. The pub sat above rocks against which waves constantly crashed, the noise being inescapable outside. Inside the atmosphere was completely different: busy, warm, cosy and intimate. A fire had been lit. The décor played …
Performance
July 14, 2013
Hyper-sensitive and irritable. Unable to think of other matters. Waiting for that moment when I am called. My stomach churns every time I think of stepping forward and speaking into the microphone. Around 1,700 people will be in front of me and film cameras are pointing in my face. It is live-streamed around the world. …
The Soundtrack to your Life
March 24, 2013
Music is probably our greatest invention. What else can so quickly lift our spirits or reduce us to tears, the two often being only seconds apart? Philosophers debate whether music really was an invention. Perhaps it was discovered. It might exist in a Platonic realm, which is our aspiration to comprehend. Certainly there is a …
Do Nothing
March 17, 2013
A few weeks ago I had an early morning flight to take. Due to poor forward planning, I was alone on board with no internet, no book or magazine and little charge on my laptop. In a restless world, such a situation seems almost a punishment to bear. What worse a torture can one inflict …
Immortality
October 5, 2012
I have just returned from a conference on the metaphysics of relations at which were some of the finest contemporary philosophical minds. I was struck by frequent references to the likes of Aristotle, Aquinas, Duns Scotus, Descartes and such. Aristotle died 2,300 years ago. We have had a long time to improve on his thinking, …
Love Lieder
March 29, 2012
If there be but one single thing that each and every human requires, without any fear of contradiction we say that it is love. It is not wealth, nor status; except insofar as some believe that these can bring them love – a conjecture falling far short of verification. Some say they want happiness, and …
Mahler’s 2nd
March 26, 2012
Life, death, its meaning, resurrection. On Saturday 24th March an audience at Nottingham’s Albert Hall were treated to an insight into all of the above when they attended a performance of Mahler’s epic second symphony. The event was staged by the Lakeside Arts Centre and included around 200 performers from the University of Nottingham orchestra …
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