11. Cold War, Warm Hearts - Isaiah Berlin: Between Russia and Oxford

Philosopher and historian of ideas, Sir Isaiah Berlin – born in Riga in 1909 – became a central figure of the British political and cultural establishment, not least as the founding President of Wolfson College, Oxford. Berlin was also passionate about music and literature. Philip Ross Bullock tells the story of how he used his influence and connections to support Russian artists, lobbying for Boris Pasternak's nomination for the Nobel Prize in 1958, publishing the poetry of the great emigre humanist Vyacheslav Ivanov, and even bringing Anna Akhmatova and Dmitry Shostakovich to Oxford in the 1960s. Two of Oxford Lieder’s outstanding Young Artists illuminate this talk with settings of Akhmatova and songs by Shostakovich and his close friend Benjamin Britten.

Following this event, audience members are warmly encouraged to book for the private visit to the Pasternak Collection in North Oxford. Click here for details.