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Ed West's avatar

PS I'm going to delete any tweets that are off-topic. This is the first time comments are open to everyone rather than just paid subs so I don't want it to rapdily degenerate like 1960s New York.

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Ed West's avatar

sorry comments, not tweets.

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Neil C's avatar

History Exams in 2546 "What role, if any, did so called "Canon Clubs", first suggested by Ed West, play in the mid 21st Century counter revolutions that led to the end of "the great awokening" and a resurgence in classical architecture?"

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Gnasher's avatar

Ed, on Classical Music, Radio 3’s Building a Library podcasts are a great way to introduce yourself to wonderful music and learn about the composer’s history and influences, performance styles etc. It’s the BBC at its best, educating, informing, entertaining. A rare jewel.

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Ed West's avatar

thanks. Ill look that up

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Alan Munro's avatar

And I think most symphony orchestras host pre performance talks where a work on the programme is discussed.

And usually free!

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Kieran McGovern's avatar

True though they often assume a level of knowledge that can discourage newbies. In choirs I have noticed a divide between those who learned sight-reading at school and others (like myself) who are starting from scratch. The former group are uneasy without a score, the latter baffled by the ‘dots on the page’ as McCartney puts it. Can be bridged, of course, The Beatles managed to make a living…

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Gwindor's avatar

You're right. Composer of the Week is very good too, I think.

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Civil Serpent's avatar

Been wanting something like this for ages. Thank you!

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Kieran McGovern's avatar

Similarly, The New Yorker’s classic story podcast has an amazing list, all freely available. Writers choose their favourite New Yorker story - Paul Theroux on Elizabeth Taylor (the other one) and V.S Pritchett for example. More recent choices tending to drift down the identitarian rabbit hole but always plenty more to choose from.

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OS/2's avatar

I'd echo that. Composer of the week is also good as others have said - necessarily hagiograhical but excellent. There is also something akin to a thread/channel on BBC sounds called 'Experience Classical' which is basically an aggregator of lots of performances previously broadcast by R3 and it's full of amazing and key works. In typical BBC Sounds style it's hard to find (they just want you to listen to whatever their latest 'chillout classical' mix is) but just search 'Experience Classical' and you'll see the full list.

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Gordon Todd's avatar

Many thanks for your typically lively essay. Just to say that members of my local branch (Arnold, Nottingham) of the U3A (University of the Third Age) we have been able in the last three days to study Wagner’s Ring Cycle (just starting the last opera after over a year), Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, and Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’. Total cost of all these courses for members about £28 each. You have be retired or semi-retired to join, but nobody checks.

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Zac Chave-Cox's avatar

I live in Dundee and should be able to provide a church venue pretty easily (the one I work at) - anyone interested?

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Alan Munro's avatar

Well done. Good luck.

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Christian Clavadetscher's avatar

Happy to be the sponsor of the US branch…

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Two Story Books's avatar

I'm opening up a "bookstore / cafe" in a University town close to Savannah, Georgia, and you gave beautiful words to my idea's vision.

Passionate students and community locals, that come together to explore topics human-to-human, rather than alone with our podcasts.

Putting this out there, if anybody cares to join my efforts!

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Gareth Peyton's avatar

I like this idea and would be keen to participate. It feels like the type of thing City firms, businesses, banks etc might like to sponsor. So maybe you could negotiate free use of office space (swanky conference rooms) in return for the event being sponsored by the firm?

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Gnasher's avatar

Or the City livery halls. I can’t imagine they are well used in the evenings, lots of them with rooms of all sizes, and they might feel this is the sort of thing they should be supporting.

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Gareth Peyton's avatar

I should have said, I live in Greater London.

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Chris J. Karr's avatar

Great idea and one I'm going to steal and try to instantiate here in Chicago.

If you're looking for a place to start for a reading list, you may want to take a look at the reading lists that come out of colleges teaching a Great Books curriculum. St. John's College in Santa Fe for example:

https://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/undergraduate/classes/seminar/santa-fe-undergraduate-readings

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Ashwin Parameswaran's avatar

Excellent idea and definitely happy to join if it is in London. Since you started with Western classical music, let me recommend a book I am currently reading and enjoying - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/059333146X/

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Alan Munro's avatar

Pre pandemic a local bookseller ran a ‘philosophy club’ .

Blackwell I believe. Interesting and well attended it was a good way in for people interested in philosophy yet awed by reading Kant. Perhaps a network via local booksellers?

Edinburgh based btw.

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DM2143's avatar

If you want this to scale then it should also be available online. Then the speakers have a meaningful platform and participants can learn about areas when they weren’t physically present. Whilst more local clubs may be a good idea for discussion if you really want to take the high points of western civilisation you ought to get the best presenters possible. Edpecially if you want this knowledge to endure

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Ninoinoz's avatar

The events could be videoed and put on YouTube, Rumble etc. after a decent interval.

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Ed West's avatar

Good idea

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Olly Rathbone's avatar

I think this is a great idea. It would be interesting to do a subscriber survey on gaps in knowledge of the western canon. For instance I’m pretty good on history, ok in literature, less good on art and bad on classical music. I’d attend London events.

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Madjack's avatar

Personally terrible on mythology

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Isaiah Berg's avatar

This puts into words something I have been very interested in for a while. The closest analogue I can think of here in New York City would be some of the more erudite social clubs, or think tanks like the Manhattan Institute (though much of their programming tends towards public policy and economics, rather than culture). Some churches (like Saint Vincent Ferrer on the Upper East Side) have a pretty solid network for this kind of thing. Interintellect (https://interintellect.com/) comes to mind as well.

If the Cultural Tutor built some kind of a membership business / community around this, I would love to join. Building a company that did this (Paid Khan Academy for Culture? with emphasis on lower cost digital entry-level offering, and higher cost IRL hosted events in major cities) would be a dream.

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Ed West's avatar

Interesting

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Ninoinoz's avatar

I think it's important that it is done as a money generative exercise. Because, otherwise: it's too much hassle and will stop like other such ventures, it discourages trolls and, lastly, people don't appreciate stuff for free.

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Ed West's avatar

Yes it will cost money to go, it will be deliberately accessible price wise but we’d like to pay the speakers obviously

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Derek Turner's avatar

Sounds a bit like the 19th century working men's clubs Dickens, Emerson et al. used to address for hours on end, to excellent informative and uplifting effect. A very good plan - and un-conservatively constructive! - but probably only viable in cities, maybe only in London. But if there are any Lincs-based people reading these comments...

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Neil Pryke's avatar

Over Here, D.H. Lawrence, when he was teaching, commented on children reading comics: "What does it matter what they read, as long as they READ!"

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