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Prokofiev's War and Peace

Sergei Prokofiev’s War and Peace (1953) was an adaptation of Tolstoy’s novel begun during WWII. He saw it as a personal interpretation of the novel.

Crown, Country and the Struggle for Cultural Supremacy

The changing balance of power and wealth between the aristocracy and the monarchy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century has fundamentally influenced today’s national cultural landscape of art and architecture.

Art and Power in the English Aristocratic House

This lecture questions this view and shows how, from the sixteenth century, aristocratic families deployed their collections and commissioned their buildings in both town and country in order to further their political and dynastic ambitions.

Architecture, Images and Image-Making Under The Stuarts

An integral part of the tumultuous political events of the century was the cultural ambition of the principal players who form the subject of this lecture.

Painting, Patronage and Politics under the Tudors

Tudor England was a dangerous place for the wealthy and powerful. Art and architecture was a sign of connoisseurship but also political ambition.

Russia After Communism

What is Russia’s place in the world now? And what does the turbulence of the last 25 years tell us about where it is heading?

The Birth of Modern Theatreland: Covent Garden and the Two Theatres Royal

London is home to two of the oldest working theatres in the world both founded by Charles II’s patents. Professor Thurley looks at the significance and impact of these great institutions on the development of London.

The USSR in the Cold War Years

After Stalin’s death in 1953, successive leaders tried to find ways to revitalise the Soviet regime and rethink its promises to the Soviet people. Life within a system no longer based on terror and intense industrial transformation offered citizens strange alternatives.

Architecture and the Edwardian Era

Edwardian architecture in particular provides a fascinating commentary on broader historical themes – not only in its use of style and its remodelling of old buildings but also in the range of new activities it provided for.

Palace, Park and Square: St James's and the Birth of the West End

Based on new research into the origins of St. James’s, Simon Thurley looks into the ingredients that went into making a court quarter there and the way it formed a blueprint for the new West End of London.

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