Bach’s Art of Fugue, Mozart’s Requiem, Schubert’s Symphony No. 8, Alban Berg’s opera Lulu, and Elgar’s 3rd Symphony are all pieces that are famously incomplete.
This lecture examines the fascination surrounding works that are left unfinished at their composers’ deaths. It also looks at the urge that certain of us have to complete these uncompleted works, however unwisely and however unbidden. ‘Don’t let anyone tinker with it’, said Elgar; but several have anyway, and with thought-provoking results.
No reservations are required for this lecture. It will be run on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.
Doors will open 30 minutes before the start of the lecture
Jeremy is the Sterndale Bennett Lecturer in Music at the Royal Academy of Music. He also chairs the Academy's Continuing Professional Development Programme.
He has delivered the annual Christmas carol service at Gresham College since 2014. In 2019, he was made Visiting Professor of Music History.
Professor Summerly's lecture series are as follows:
2019/20 Making Music
All lectures by the Visiting Professor of Music History can be accessed here.
Current Visiting Professor of Music
