Brahms Piano Quintet: Movement 1 (Lunigiana Music Festival) Chris Newton 2024-08-03 | A very memorable performance for me from last week's Lunigiana Music Festival in Fivvizano, Tuscany. An amazing opportunity to perform with my wonderful teacher Yuri Torchinsky (Leader of the BBC Philharmonic, and who was the youngest ever concertmaster of the Bolshoi Ballet), the lovely Abigail Dance (who I was delighted to find out was a close friend of Tom Hammond, whose conducting inspired me to choose music as a career), the inspiring Gianluca Pirisi (whose Martinu I will never forget!) and the amazing Mischa Carr (who will be starting at the Royal College of Music with a full scholarship in September!)Such inspiring musicians. Thank you all for an unforgettable week ❤️(feat. some secretive phone scrolling in the front row 🤣)
How Meaningful Do You Want Your Life to Be? | Henning Kraggerud & RNCM Philosophy Society Chris Newton 2024-03-18 | Henning Kraggerud is one of the most inspiring and creative musicians in the world. A Norwegian violinist and composer, Henning speaks to us at the Royal Northern College of Music about the role of improvisation and creativity in the cultivation of meaningful practice in classical music, which he also writes about in depth in the following blog posts:How meaningful do you want your life to be :henningkraggerud.com/single-post/how-meaningful-do-you-want-your-life-to-beHow to stay motivated (part 1 &2)henningkraggerud.com/single-post/2020/04/17/find-more-meaning-through-conversations-with-better-parts-of-yourself-how-to-stay-motivatTimestamps:00:00:55 How Meaningful Do You Want Your Life To Be?00:06:49 The Limits of Creativity; Taking Risks00:12:48 Freedom Vs Discipline00:17:52 Technique Vs Creativity; Learning from Mistakes00:37:24 The Flow State 00:44:37 Iain McGilchrist, Left Vs Right Hemispheres; Perfectionism Vs Wholeness00:54:34 What Makes an Artwork Great?01:03:00 Is Music Rational?01:09:23 The Importance of Good Taste01:16:20 Love is the Most Important Thing01:25:29 Having Fun!01:37:13 Conclusion: John Vervaeke & The Meaning Crisis
Michael Sugrue Memorial Lecture: Dialectics of Love in Platos Symposium Chris Newton 2024-02-22 | A tribute to the late Michael Sugrue, Dialectics of Love in Plato's Symposium is a talk I gave at a recent conference at the Contemporary Philosophy Research Centre at the RNCM (Royal Northern College of Music), which was on the topic of Dialectics, Dialetheism and DeconstructionThe full conference can be viewed here: youtube.com/live/k7oLhpX7-kY?si=87EzrdftFoFtQw2hThe talk is followed by a brief Q&A at 23:09Our conversation with Dr Sugrue can be found here: youtu.be/qqoeKq5mgtQI also make reference to a lecture series by @johnvervaeke called "After Socrates", which can be found here: youtu.be/bILiVpljIxw?si=aJ-gPEIa78caPFkU
Bach Double Violin Concerto (3rd Movement): Chris Newton & Rachel Stonham Chris Newton 2024-01-15 | Performers: Chris Newton - Violin 1 SoloRachel Stonham - Violin 2 SoloRNCM String Orchestra with Benedict Holland & Pavel Fischer
Donald Hoffman Q&A with Royal Northern College of Music Chris Newton 2023-12-13 | Donald Hoffman is Professor of Cognitive Science at UC Irvine, and the author of several popular books including "The Case Against Reality", and "Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See". We hope you enjoy our conversation with him!We are also joined by members of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, one of the world's oldest learned societies (over 250 years old!) More info here:manlitphil.ac.ukTimestamps00:31 Introduction to Donald's ideas09:14 How does your theory affect our understanding of daily life?12:59 A further exploration of Donald's ideas17:10 Is reality whatever we choose it to be? Can myths be true?21:10 Music perception & Synesthesia 24:27 Understanding other people's perceptions26:04 Overcoming divisions between people32:34 Ontological Agnosticism39:29 Paradigm Shifts & Scientific Revolutions42:10 Problems with Empiricism & other philosophical challenges53:50 Overlaps with Buddhist Thinking & Scientific Spirituality1:04:02 Truth vs Heuristics1:11:13 Is there a collective mind? Joscha Bach: "Networks of Caring"1:17:33 Post-Hegelian Philosophy (Zizek)1:21:07 What is Beauty? 1:24:55 What is Artistic Taste? 1:26:17 How does language affect perception?1:32:41 Love your neighbour as yourself1:36:37 Psychedelics1:39:40 Do I exist?1:44:44 A funny moment of synchronicity1:48:23 How to put these ideas into practice1:50:57 Conclusion
Daniel Kurganov Q&A with Royal Northern College of Music Chris Newton 2023-11-22 | Daniel's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@DanielKurganovDaniel is a violinist, educator and entrepreneur, creating videos to pass on knowledge and ideas about the craft of violin playing to passionate and curious musicians!We hope you enjoy our discussion with him! Timestamps00:30 Daniel's vision for the future of music education08:39 Problems with Online Teaching13:38 Learning to Teach Yourself; Starting Violin as an Adult19:40 Ivry Gitlis, The "Scratch Scale"21:41 Abhi's journey from Doctor to Violinist; dealing with Self-Doubt37:43 Rachmaninoff: how to be a hypnotic performer42:10 Augustin Hadelich's humble yet hypnotic genius48:15 The Magician vs the Mechanic52:02 The Art of Legato1:06:18 What is Good Taste?1:15:15 Imitating Great Artists1:20:32 Managing Self-Criticism1:29:07 Confidence vs Doubt 1:31:54 Love vs Addiction (John Vervaeke); Spiraling into Freedom1:42:37 Awkwardness in Developing New Techniques1:48:19 Practicing with Flexibility to Develop Your Musical Toolkit1:53:15 Approaching Opposing Ideas (Michael Sugrue); Philosophy & Music1:58:51 Becoming an Individual Musician2:00:33 Conclusion
Chris Newton: Hitlahavut for String Orchestra Chris Newton 2023-03-26 | Composer: Chris NewtonRNCM Year 1 String Orchestra & Chris HoyleProducer: Joshua QuinlanIf you enjoy our content, please like and subscribe!"Hitlahavut," as described by Martin Buber in The Legend of the Baal Shem, is “the burning, the ardour of ecstasy" experienced in prayer. Listen for the fiery passion of the violin solo, inspired by the compositions of Ernest Bloch, and for the famous "dies irae" (day of wrath) theme introduced by the viola. Artwork: Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, by Gustave Doré
Sonu Shamdasani Q&A with RNCM: Music, Carl Jung & The Red Book Chris Newton 2023-02-16 | Sonu Shamdasani is professor of Jung History at University College London and editor-in-chief at the Philemon Foundation. He is well known for editing the first edition of The Red Book by Carl Jung.If you enjoy our content, please like and subscribe!Question Timestamps: 00:18 Overview01:36 The role of music in the translation of The Red Book07:11 Examples of where music has affected translation10:36 The music of John Zorn & George Gurdjieff12:10 Interactions between Jung and Gurdjieff13:55 Music communicating emotion17:38 Spectating conscious states19:19 The role of music in philosophy21:04 Music as "Alchemy of Sound", Schopenhauer's views on music26:38 The role of beauty29:39 Lament of the Dead33:31 Psychology is in a mess, "Tower of Babel"35:44 Psychology without bias37:58 Jung's private cosmology, visionary experiences42:12 Tolkien & Jung42:38 Did Jung use Psychedelics to create the Red Book?43:28 Climate change as cosmology46:28 The need for dogma48:12 Jung and Meister Eckhart49:27 Returning to Christianity, religion as a language52:59 Dreams vs Imagination55:12 Nietzsche, the need for art, the meaning crisis, advice for artists1:01:12 How to Listen/Read
Joscha Bach Q&A with Royal Northern College of Music Chris Newton 2022-12-21 | Joscha Bach is the Principal Artificial Intelligence Engineer at Intel Labs, with a history of research positions at AI Foundation, MIT and Harvard. He is one of the most fascinating minds in the AI community. We hope you enjoy our conversation with him! :)Timestamps:0:31 Overview4:12 What is the value of art to an artificial intelligence?7:00 Can AI think intuitively/metaphorically?10:33 Joscha's favourite examples of AI art13:41 As part of the Bach Family, did JS Bach's music have an influence on your intellectual development?16:27 Is it possible to fully re-create the human mind with AI? If so, why?19:03 Disagreement with John Vervaeke about Relevance Realisation23:18 If an AI values music, what music would it prefer?31:09 Embodied cognition: Does AI need a body to think?40:39 Religion as programming for the mind48:17 What causes variability in human minds?55:15 Nature Vs Nurture 1:03:46 Is the self an illusion?1:05:20 What is Infinity?1:14:06 What makes something valuable to an AI?1:23:43 Do archetypes have an objective existence?1:26:34 Carl Jung: "I regard the psyche as real"1:29:31 Death anxiety & Terror Management Theory; Non-attachment Vs Caring1:39:08 The Future of AI; Joscha's interpretation of the Bible1:45:34 Are we motivated by death anxiety to sexually reproduce?1:53:26 Joscha's conception of the "AI Artist"(Apologies for any inconsistencies in the video editing!)
Jonathan Pageau Q&A with Royal Northern College of Music Chris Newton 2022-11-09 | 0:42 Religion as symbolic patterns4:58 Does it matter that the events in the Bible really happened?10:12 Is music a metaphor for "living in harmony" with each other?12:47 Symbolic patterns are like fractals18:38 Contemporary Art25:04 Advice for composing liturgical music27:27 Relativism disregards human nature37:03 Samuel Andreyev: There has been no innovation in the last 50 years of contemporary music42:01 Beauty is hard-wired into our biology44:40 Is Modernism inevitable?53:19 Was music created or discovered?1:00:09 Is Christian art heretical?1:05:15 Is there something transcendent underneath symbolism?1:07:55 What are your thoughts on psychedelics?1:11:48 Making art that is compatible with symbolic patterns1:16:25 Dangers of New Age religious thinking & the necessity of dogma1:27:12 Does orthopraxy (right action) require orthodoxy (right belief)?1:28:46 Thoughts on "spirituality without religion"?1:33:18 The dangers of dogma1:49:24 Love is the Opposite of Addiction; Humility is the Opposite of Pride
Love is the Opposite of Addiction | John Vervaeke & RNCM Philosophy Society Chris Newton 2022-10-29 | ...
John Vervaeke Q&A with Royal Northern College of Music Chris Newton 2022-10-25 | 0:18 What is the Meaning Crisis?7:25 Ecology of Practices11:58 Does Wisdom lead to Meaning in life?15:54 The Flow State Cures Performance Anxiety23:01 How does moral behavior correlate with meaning in life?29:00 Love is not an emotion31:57 What is meaning? Meaning OF life/meaning IN life - what's the difference?37:22 Music as a metaphor of attention39:28 Contemporary music43:50 Superficiality in modern life48:13 How does The Meaning Crisis affect everyday life?1:04:19 Is happiness the meaning of life?1:05:06 How does faith play a role in solving the meaning crisis?1:22:20 What is the meaning of connectedness without purpose?1:32:08 Why is your work so important to you? What advice would you give to those who want to do similar work?1:36:19 What is the meaning of faith without purpose?1:40:22 Art for Art's sake1:47:06 Love is the Opposite of Addiction1:50:30 The Parable of the Good Samaritan1:51:58 How to drive exaptation
Chris Newton: Clarinet Quintet Puer Aeternus Chris Newton 2022-07-07 | Puer Aeternus: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puer_aeternusBb Clarinet: Emily DeggViolin I: Chris NewtonViolin II: Pia BrombyViola: Ben NorrisCello: Rebekah ClarkeRecorded at the Royal Northern College of Music
