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John Borstlap is a prominent composer, producing music rooted in tradition, comparable with new classical architecture and new figurative painting. He is also a cultural philosopher writing about art history and 20th century music, with articles published in several newspapers and musical journals. He has been involved in polemics about contemporary music and explored the idea of a European cultural Renaissance since 1970s, which has only begun to be recognized as a valuable contribution in recent years (his work represents ""the voice of European culture,"" according to the late Sir Roger Scruton). He studied at the Rotterdam Conservatory, completed a master's degree at Cambridge University, and is the author of The Classical Revolution (2017). His chamber music is performed regularly; notable orchestral premières took place in Amsterdam, Manchester, Montpellier, Dallas and Hong Kong.
"""In the words of Rabanus Maurus, “Grammata sola carent fato, mortemque repellunt. Preterita renovant grammata sola biblis”, The written word alone flouts destiny, revives the past, gives the lie to Death. True to this spirit, composer and cultural philosopher John Borstlap, through his written word, attempts to resurrect the relevance of Western classical music for our times in a thorough way. Thoughtfully crafting a transdisciplinary narrative, he shows the psychological, biological, spiritual, and transcendental roots of this music genre and the important role it plays in structuring both our inner and outer worlds. Written in a lucid manner, this tour de force warmly embraces experts, non-experts and all those who wish to harmonise with classical music, as a gateway into the depths of human psyche, as a powerful pivot around which change and future become possible and as a universal language that connects us all.""Shyam Wuppuluri Recipient of the 2020 Albert-Einstein Fellowship at Caputh and Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. ""I am so glad to see the birth of Borstlap’s timely publication explaining the concerns of classical music while offering helpful remedies. The book makes me reflect again on the basis of music and may have already modified my music making.""Bright Sheng Composer, conductor, and pianist""John Borstlap’s book is a gift for all classical music lovers. Is it a phenomenon from the past, which has nothing to tell us any longer? According to Borstlap, classical music is not a museum but contains, encrypted in tones, answers to still – or again – topical questions. The narratives of the 20th century about progress, liberation and material growth have lost their credibility. However, they are mirrored in “avantgarde” thinking, and thus the crises of modern art and society point towards common roots. Reconsidering the relationship with nature and learning to appreciate again the world of interiority are the most important challenges which this book undertakes, to which classical music can offer an important contribution.""Wolfgang-Andreas Schultz Former Professor for Composition and Theory of Music at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg and a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in Salzburg"
