Culture & Anarchy

For too long the Proms showcased foreign music. Now, under Roger Wright, it is well and truly a Great British festival

The Normans embellished Saxon churches but they also built their own, and there is nowhere better to admire their artistry than Herefordshire

Public displays of emotion, sequins, ear studs and nancy boy’s clothes: where have all the men’s men gone?

Kathleen Ferrier’s wonderful career was cut short by her death at 41 in 1953. Thankfully plenty of the contralto’s songs were committed to vinyl

Learning a foreign tongue opens up an entirely new spectrum of cultural rewards, yet state schools are failing to emphasise their importance

For too long British classical music has gone unheard. Thankfully, what was once deemed a “guilty pleasure” is now getting regular airtime

Nostalgia for the war runs deep in our cultural memory; Matthew Sweet’s new book shows why

Despite the current success of England’s test team, the county game is at an all-time cricketing low. It needs a dramatic overhaul

In 2004 John Coldstream published a life of Dirk Bogarde so good that no one should ever feel the need to write another one. Coldstream was a literary editor by trade, and in that capacity had enticed Bogarde to review books for the Telegraph. Bogarde, who was by all accounts (including Coldstream’s) not the easiest man of whom to win the trust soon came to trust Coldstream. The decision that this sensitive, thoughtful and intelligent man should write the life of the actor was inspired.

Nikolaus Pevsner was the man who catalogued England. His project is well worth another read