Sects and ‘new left’ disillusionment. Mike Macnair reviews P Blackledge, N Davidson (eds) Alasdair MacIntyre’s engagement with Marxism: selected writings 1953-1974, Brill (Historical materialism series),... »
Music
In the very fabric of art
In his rejection of practice that prioritises cooperation over competition, Hans Werber Henze conspires with a system he claims to oppose, writes Gordon Downie Last weekend the music of the German composer Hans Werner Henze was featured in the Barbican’s Total Immersion series, which claims to examine the work of a single composer through performances,... »
Fantasy liberation
Michael Jackson’s death serves to remind us of the amorality of the pop and entertainment industry, writes Eddie Ford. Much to the delight of media-owners everywhere, Michael Jackson died suddenly last week after being taken to a Los Angeles hospital. He was aged only 50 and was about to embark on a 50-concert ‘comeback’ tour... »
Coalface – Dani Thomas
Communist Students member Dani Thomas, composer of the electro-acoustic piece ‘Coalface’, describes his response to both the energy and rashness of the early 20th century futurists In 1909 in Italy, Filippo Marinetti wrote his impassioned manifesto for futurism. The unordered, awkward syntax of the writing is as representative of the outwardly reckless nature of his... »
Soundtracks for the new American century
Gordon Downie listened to BBC Radio’s Three Composer of the week (John Adams), February 9 In Who paid the piper: the CIA and the cultural cold war, Frances Stonor Saunders offers convincing evidence that the dominance of certain ... »