Virginia Woolf and Music
Many thanks to Jeremy Thurlow, Music Fellow of Robinson College, for a wonderful talk and recital about Virginia Woolf’s interest in music on our 2019 Woolf summer course.
Woolf frequently attended concerts and operas throughout her life; music was a deep inspiration for her thinking and writing. In the 1920s, the Woolfs acquired a gramophone. Leonard Woolf wrote gramophone reviews for the journal Nation and kept detailed notes of their listening.
Jeremy explored aspects of Virginia Woolf’s interest in fugue (especially Bach) and the late works of Beethoven, and illustrated the talk with a wonderful recital on the piano. A memorable experience.
Links
Emma Sutton article for OpenLearn on Woolf and music.
Photos by Jeremy Peters @JezPete.
