New reading group begins! 'The Classical Style'

The Classical Style by Charles Rosen 

By ERIC WAGNER
Special guest blogger

Week 1: Overture 

Schedule: 

5/25/2026 Overture 

6/1 Preface to the First Edition, A New Preface, Acknowledgments, Bibliographic Note, Note on the Music Examples. 

I   INTRODUCTION 

6/8 1. The Musical Language of the Late Eighteenth Century 

6/15 2. Theories of Form 

6/22 3. The Origins of the Style 

II   THE CLASSICAL STYLE 

6/29 1. The Coherence of the Musical Language 

7/6 2. Structure and Ornament 

III   HAYDN FROM 1770 TO THE DEATH OF MOZART 

7/13 1. String Quartet 

7/20 2. Symphonies 

7/27  

IV   SERIOUS OPERA 

V   MOZART 

8/3 1. The Concerto 

8/10 2. String Quintet 

8/17 3. Comic Opera 

VI   HAYDN AFTER THE DEATH OF MOZART 

8/24 1. The Popular Style 

8/31 2. Piano Trio (Doomed Music) 

9/7 3. Church Music 

VII   BEETHOVEN 

9/14 1. Beethoven 

9/21 2. Beethoven’s Later Years and the Conventions of His Childhood 

9/28 Epilogue 

At the end of first grade they put some of the first graders in the second grade classroom for the last few weeks of school. One day the second grade teacher told us about Franz Joseph Haydn. She said he had become famous, but then, as now, some people fell asleep at the concerts, so he wrote a special piece for them, and she played us the second movement of Haydn’s Surprise Symphony. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOLy6JxEDLw&list=RDVOLy6JxEDLw&start_radio=1 

This utterly delighted my first grade mind. I could think of nothing cooler. I went home and told my mom about it, and she got me an LP of Haydn’s Surprise and Clock Symphonies that Christmas. I listened to them over and over again over the decades. 

Around December 1990 I read Joseph Kerman’s The Beethoven Quartets which blew me away, and in 1991 I read a bunch of other Kerman books. In Kerman’s Contemplating Music he raved about Charles Rosen’s The Classical Style, so it read it that summer, and I’ve read it over and over again over the past 25 years, along with all of Rosen’s other books. I also love Rosen’s piano playing. I love the synergetic experience of reading him and then listening to his recordings and trying to grok the music. Thank you for joining me on this voyage to Esterhazy, Salzburg, Vienna, and beyond. 

 

The official RAW site

If you have not visited the official Robert Anton Wilson site in awhile, you might want to take a look; Rasa has done a good job of keeping it updated. You can read excerpts from 23 RAW books, go through a rather large collection of links, read some of Arlen Riley Wilson's poetry, read some jokes, read a collection of short RAW pieces, and so on. 

Todd Purse on Hilaritas Podcast

 

Artist, illustrator and musician Todd Purse, Bobby Campbell's co-conspirator with Tales of Illuminatus, is the guest for the new Hilaritas Press Podcast released today. Here's the official blurb:

"Hilaritas host Mike Gathers chats with cartoonist and illustrator Todd Purse. Todd has been working with Bobby Campbell on the Tales of Illuminatus! comic series which is in its final month of the kickstarter campaign for Issue #3."

Here is Todd's link tree. 

The Robert Anton Wilson Day proclamation

If you are a Robert Anton Wilson fan, take about six minutes to watch the above video, I think you will enjoy it.

Here is some background from the Hilaritas Press blog: "The world premier of the documentary Maybe Logic: The Lives & Ideas of Robert Anton Wilson was held at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz, California on July 23, 2003. The host for the event, Scott Apel, began the evening with a special presentation. He introduced Emily Reilly, the mayor of the city of Santa Cruz, who delivered a proclamation."

Scott Apel recently sent a video of  the event to Rasa, who edited the clip  you see above. Rasa tells me he edited the clip from "a longer video that is mostly just the crowd in a long line and then entering the theater, but still interesting. You see Bob arriving, getting into his wheelchair… " Rasa fixed up the lighting and the audio. If you watch closely at the end, you will notice a nice-looking woman who stands next to Scott and then wheels RAW away. That is Cathy, Scott's wife, who cared for RAW in his final days in 2007. 

Eric Wagner on Robert Creeley

Robert Creeley, May 21, 1926 – March 30, 2005 

A Wicker Basket 

By Robert Creeley 

 

Comes the time when it’s later 
and onto your table the headwaiter    

 puts the bill, and very soon after 

 rings out the sound of lively laughter— 

 

 Picking up change, hands like a walrus,    

 and a face like a barndoor’s, 

 and a head without any apparent size,    

 nothing but two eyes— 

 

 So that’s you, man, 

 or me. I make it as I can,    

 I pick up, I go 

 faster than they know— 

 

 Out the door, the street like a night,    

 any night, and no one in sight,    

 but then, well, there she is, 

 old friend Liz— 

 

 And she opens the door of her cadillac,    

 I step in back, 

 and we’re gone. 

 She turns me on— 

 

 There are very huge stars, man, in the sky, 

 and from somewhere very far off someone hands me a slice of apple pie, 

 with a gob of white, white ice cream on top of it,    

 and I eat it— 

 

 Slowly. And while certainly 

 they are laughing at me, and all around me is racket    

 of these cats not making it, I make it 

 

 in my wicker basket. 

By ERIC WAGNER
Special guest blogger

I got The Collected Poems of Robert Creeley: 1975 – 2005 for Christmas, 2025. I had read his Collected Poem: 1945 – 1975 years ago, and I thought I would read my Christmas gift to help me prepare for his centennial. The first poem begins by quoting K. C. and the Sunshine Band:  

“That’s the way 

(that’s the way 

I like it 

(I like it” 

Up until the first half of ninth grade I tended to wear button down shirts. Midway through ninth grade my mom took me to a t-shirt store where I got a Pink Floyd t-shirt and a K. C. and the Sunshine Band t-shirt. I had that Pink Floyd shirt on when I took the picture for my college ID two and a half years later. 

I first heard of Robert Creeley in the early 1980’s because of the Steve Swallow album of setting of Creeley’s poetry Home. 

Still majoring in math at Arizona State in 1984. I signed up a contemporary American poetry class, excited that the textbook included Creeley. By the end of the semester I had done my paper for that class on Creeley, and I had changed my major to English. 

In 1985 I graduated from college and I went to a celebration of Ezra Pound’s centennial at the University of Maine, Orono, where I met Creeley and Allen Ginsburg and others. I told Creeley I kept my pot in a wicker basket in his honor. He told me, “Don’t get caught.” 

Over the years Creeley taught me how to write as well as how to read so many poets: Whitman, Pound, Bunting, etc. In my fifties I became obsessed with Louis Zukofsky, and Creeley’s writing gave me entry into Zukofsky’s world.  

Thank you, Mr. Creeley. 

Robert Creeley and Eric Wagner in 1985.

Arrived in the mail

 My copy of The Occult Timothy Leary: The Tarot, Magical States, and Post-Terrestrial Evolution by Joseph L. Flatley, arrived in the mail earlier this week. I'm about halfway through it; it's very interesting so far. The book is dedicated to Robert Anton Wilson and Antero Alli.

I'll have more on the book soon, but here is an earlier post with more information. 

Church of Burn plans August 23 event

Some British Discordian news: Spookah wrote to me to tell me that the Church of Burn has an event coming up:

"I belong to the congregation of the Church of Burn and come to you today on its behalf. Jonathan Harris has gotten into his mind to try and organize a big decentralized money burning event of 10k pounds this summer on August 23rd (anniversary date of the KLF burning of the million pounds)."

More information at the event website, which says, "The £10KBURN is where members of the public make Burn Pledges to be enacted on 23rd August 2026. If £10K is destroyed on that day, Give Pledges are activated. Give Pledges are a conditional commitment to donate a specified sum to charity by midnight on 22nd October 2026."

Church of Burn information here. 

John Higgs wrote a book about the KLF and its money burning, hence my illustration. 

New Scott Apel links

Spookah has helped me with my ongoing "Scott Apel  Resources" section on the right side of this page with two additional items.

He sent me a link to a YouTube playlist of Scott's commentaries on The Prisoner on a California TV station (as described in the Robert Anton Wilson anthology Scott put together, Beyond Chaos and Beyond.) 

 Spookah also put together a handy Letterboxd list of Scott's first Killer B's book, Killer B's: The 237 Best Movies on Video You've (Probably) Never Seen by D. Scott Apel.

Thanks for your help, Spookah! 

I have added both links to the "Scott Apel Resources" section. 

RAW products on Zazzle

A RAW coffeecup available from Zazzle. The caption says, "I don't believe anything but I have many suspicions." 

Last night when my wife and I were watching television, we saw a commercial for Zazzle, the website that allow anyone to submit a design and buy (and sell) t-shirts, coffee cups, buttons and the like.

It reminded me that I had not looked at the site for awhile to view the Robert Anton Wilson material. Most of it is from Flying Lasagna Enterprises, "Robert Anton Wilson artifacts for your guerrilla ontological needs," designed by Rasa. You can view the Flying Lasagna section of Zazzle in different ways, including by products  or look at the home page. 

Saturday links

Bobby Campbell artwork, see link for first item. 

“He who understands Speculative Masonry, old Abraham Orfali said, does not know despair, for every hour brings him new information to be absorbed and utilized.”

- Robert Anton Wilson, The Widow’s Son. More here. 

Joseph Matheny newsletter: Ong's Hat COMPLEAT now being released as podcast series. 

Latest Chaotopia newsletter from David Lee. He comments on the recent death of Pete Carroll.

"The Anarchists Who Thought Mao Was on Their Side." By Jesse Walker. John Cage? 

Interview with Rolling Stones biographer Bob Spitz. 

One more reminder: New reading group starts on May 25

 One more reminder that a new reading group begins on May 25, lead by Eric Wagner:  Charles Rosen’s The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven. 

More details at a previous post.  Here again is Eric's statement: ""It pleases me to announce that we will begin a reading group on Charles Rosen’s The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven. This book provides a great analysis of music dear to Bob Wilson, especially Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata. Many people, including me, consider this book one of the best books on music ever written. We will begin on Monday, May 25. I recommend using the Expanded Edition of the text, but you may use the original edition if you would like to. I really look forward to this study group!"

I got my good condition used copy for less than $10 at BookFinder.com. 

As per usual, the way it works is that Eric writes a blog post and everyone else weighs in with comments. 

Here are Robert Anton Wilson's desert island recordings list, you'll see plenty from the guys Rosen writes about. 

The surprise in RAW's list is the one rock group, Iron Butterfly. My younger readers actually may not remember "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." 

I mostly listen to classical music these days. but just for fun, here are 10 of my favorite rock music albums. I could have listed a few others, and I'm sure as soon as I hit "Publish," I'll think of something I wish I had included. 

Revolver, the Beatles.
Sticky Fingers, the Rolling Stones.
Out of Time, REM.
Speaking in Tongues, Talking Heads.
New Miserable Experience, the Gin Blossoms.
At Budokan, Cheap Trick.
Copper Blue, Sugar.
Aurora Gory Alice, Letters to Cleo.
Armed Forces, Elvis Costello and the Attractions.
Shake It Up, the Cars. 

RIP magicians Peter Carroll and Gordon White [UPDATED]

Bobby Campbell "Viking Funeral" image illustrating Bobby's obituary for Peter Carroll. 

British magician Peter Carroll and magician Gordon White, a native of Australia, both died recently.

In his latest newsletter, Bobby Campbell announced the news about Peter Carroll and quoted Robert Anton Wilson about Carroll: “The most original, and probably the most important, writer on Magick since Aleister Crowley."

Bobby added, "Liber Kaos, Liber Null & Psychonaut were rocket fuel for my imagination. I studied with him at the Maybe Logic Academy (I did the enclosed art for his course) where he pushed & challenged me in very valuable ways. <3<3<3

https://www.specularium.org/blog/the-wizard-has-gone

"In the first week of class Pete Carroll had us perform an "Illumination Ritual" according to a script he provided, this was my interpretation. "

Here is the Wikipedia bio.  And here is one of the online obit notices. 

There is also sad news about Gordon White, known as an author and for his Rune Soup website and podcast.  Here is part of the email that went out to Rune Soup members: "I write to share the heartbreaking news that Gordon has passed away.

"Gordon left this world while travelling in Peru - following his life's passion - learning and experiencing traditional magic and shamanic practice so he could continue to teach and help others successfully navigate life.

"Rune Soup - and you, the community - were Gordon's proudest achievement. I know many of you will feel his loss greatly. I encourage you to find each other, and your family and friends to help process his loss." (More information at the source). 

Here is a tribute on Substack.  And here is another. And Mitch Horowitz reacts. 

UPDATE: An exchange on Bluesky:

‪Sacerdos Vagans‬ ‪@sabi2.bsky.social‬ Gordon White was the MAGA uncle of occultism. If you really must post about his passing, you’re doing everyone a disservice if you don’t acknowledge the ugly parts of his legacy.

Tom Jackson‬‪@jacksontom.bsky.social‬ I was going to mention his politics, but I could not find an accurate summary anywhere. You are free to post a comment at the blog.