WILL STONE fact-checks the colourful life of Ozzy Osbourne
Fighting spirit required
BEN LUNN draws attention to the desperate straits into which classical music is being pushed by a hack-and-slash government that cares nothing for the culture of the working class
HANGING BY A THREAD: An audience in Edinburgh appreciates an outstanding concert by the Estonian National Orchestra last weekend
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JAMES CROSSLEY applauds a lucid biography of the German radical preacher who reemerged as a hero in the GDR
Prizes all round: the Bard hands plaudits to the Miners Gala, OT&JC, Joe Solo, Black Sabbath’s frontman and the Lionesses
Star cartoonist JAMIE BRITTON is in awe of a graphic novel of epic proportions that explores class, religion and globalisation via the strange cultivation of Ginseng in the US Midwest
GUILLERMO THOMAS is intrigued by a history of the Middle East that demonstrates how promising post colonial beginnings were snuffed out by Western imperialist interests
MARIA DUARTE recommends the intricate study of a high-performance and highly dysfuntional German family
SHORTLY after the announcement of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations (NPO), I wrote in the Morning Star about the questionable choices which ultimately were a hack-and-slash at the arts and warned about the negative connotations which were going to follow.
Since then, there have been many developments and announcements – including Glyndebourne and Welsh National Opera reducing touring, English National Opera making some developments but still without anything completely finalised, and the Oldham Coliseum permanently closing its doors.
On May 5, the North-West Psappha Ensemble announced that due to the 100 per cent funding cut from the Arts Council, which made up 40 per cent of their overall annual income, they were unable to overcome the deficit and will be permanently closing when they finish their “Composing for…” series and completely shut up shop in the summer.
More from this author
BEN LUNN alerts us to the creeping return of philanthropy and private patronage, and suggests alternative paths to explore
BEN LUNN draws attention to the way cultural expressions of solidarity with Palestinians in the UK are being censored by Israeli-sponsored lawfare
BEN LUNN reports from a new music festival in New York, and singles out a breathtaking composition that protests directly against femicide in Mexico
The centenary of his birth is a chance to assess the remarkable combination of Marxism, activism and modernism in the works of Luigi Nono
