Conservatism and the Conservatory

We’re eager to share with you Roger Scruton’s essay on the important but often neglected relationship between classical music and conservatism. It has been published by the National Review and you can read it either in their print issue from December 21, 2015 or online. Either way, please do read it:

To my way of thinking, there cannot be a coherent conservatism, either in everyday life or in politics, that does not take high culture seriously. It really matters to the future of our societies that classical music should survive, not as a museum exhibit, but as a live tradition of performance and enjoyment, radiating its grace and graciousness across our communities, and providing us all, whether as performers or as listeners, with a sense of the intrinsic value of being here, now and among our fellows. From that primary experience of togetherness, of which music is not the only but surely the most exhilarating instance, countless other benefits flow, in the form of solidarity, mutual support and responsibility, and the growth of real communities.