 |
Avis Saltsman's & Ken Baldry's Talks - List of lectures available |
Modern Art |
Mountaineering |
Music |
Family History |
.....which they are willing to give to societies & U3As in the London area & on Cruise Ships.
The talks are given with images projected by a video projector (they can bring one if needed) or to a modern, flat-screen telly attached to their laptop computers. Some of the talks also have built-in musical examples &, if your premises does not have one, Ken can bring a decent portable speaker system.
If you would like them to give a talk, contact them by e-mail on this link or by telephone on 020 7359 6294.
As they are crumblies, they do not have travel expenses in the London Freedom Pass area & do not charge for talks. They have given talks to the University of the Third Age, two mental health charities, old peoples' clubs, clubs for the disabled & on cruise ships.
These talks last for about 50,minutes, leaving time in a one-hour slot for questions
History Talks
Ancient History
1. Pre-historic Britain to 800BC •
Correcting some of the rubbish we were taught at school about us being woad-covered savages.
2. Egypt to 1525BC •
From the Stone Age to the New Kingdom.
3. The Fertile Crescent •
From the Stone Age to Cyrus the Persian.
4. Egypt from 1525BC to 525BC •
From the New Kingdom to the last native Pharaoh.
5. Early Greece to 479BC •
From the Stone Age to beating the Persians.
6. The Phoenicians and Carthage to 264BC •
7. The Jews •
From 1,800BC to 4BC.
8. Greece from 479BC to Alexander the Great •
From the Stone Age to beating the Persians.
Greece & Rome
9. Early Rome to 202BC •
From the founding through into the Republic.
10. The consequences of Alexander the Great •
From his death to 30BC in Syria and Egypt.
11. Rome from 202BC to 44BC•
The Republic destoys itself.
12. Augustus from 44BC & the Empire to 37AD •
The beginning of the Empire.
13. Britain and the Roman Conquest 500BC to 96AD •
From 500BC via Julius Caesar to Agricola's 'pacification' efforts.
14. Caligula to Nero. Rome from 37 to 64 •
15. Christianity until the end of the Western Roman Empire •
Origins and history, including schisms and persecutions
16. Rome from 64 to 98 •
17. The Good Emperors and bad things 98 to 193 •
18. The Severans and anarchy. Rome 193 to 270) •
19. The Roman Empire Recovers 270 - 368 •
20. The Fall of the Western Roman Empire •
...from about 370 - 476AD
The Dark Ages
21. Dalriada and Alba •
Scotland from after the Western Roman Empire to King David I
22. King Arthur •
Fact, legend and Music, not quite the same as the Music talk version.
23. Dark Age England from King Arthur to 800 •
24. Franks and Goths •
Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal after the fall of the Western Roman Empire until about 714AD
25. The Eastern Roman Empire from the Fall of the West to 628 •
26. Islam arrives •
...from Mohammed to the fall of the Umayyads in 750AD
27. The Greek (Byzantine) Empire from 628 to 750 •
28. Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire to 924 •
29. Italy from the 535 to 1012 •
Into the Middle Ages
30. England from 800 until the Norman Conquest •
31. Greeks and Arabs from 780 to 888•
32. The Vikings from 792 to 1060 •
33. Venice to 1162 •
34. Spain from 759 to 1109 •
35. Greeks and Arabs from 888 to 1072 •
36. France from 920 & Holy Roman Empire to 1025 •
37. Forgotten Peoples •
More about some peoples mentioned in passing in other talks:
Burgundians; Gepids; some other Germans; Lombards and the astonishing story of the Normans in Italy.
38. The Normans in England from 1066 to 1135 •
39. From 1027 and 1st Crusade •
40. Scotland from David I to David II •
41. 12th Century Part 1 •
After the 1st Crusade, Hungary, the Holy Roman Empire & the Byzantine Empire to 1146.
42. 12th Century Part 2 •
The English Anarchy, Louis VII of France, 2nd Crusade, Spain & Portugal to about 1160
43. Holy Orders •
44. King Henry II of England •
45. Iberia 1109 - 1217 •
The little kingdoms of Spain and Portugal against the Moors.
46. The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the 3rd Crusade •
47. 12th Century Part 3 •
Russia, Poland, Hungary, The Greeks, Venice, Iberia & England to 1199
48. The Worst Crime of the Middle Ages •
The German Crusade, the German Civil War, the criminal 4th Crusade & Latin Empire, Hungary Bulgaria & King John of England.
49. More Crusades •
50. Germany 1200 - 1298 •
51. Points East •
The rise of the Mongols, their conquests in Asia & invasion of Europe
52. Scandinavia & France to 1229 •
...with civil wars & the Albigensian Crusade•
53. King Henry III of England •
...with something about Art & Matthew Paris
54. Iberia 1212 - 1285 •
55. Traders •
The Hanseatic League & Marco Polo, part one
56. More Mongols & Marco Polo, part two •
57. The Eastern Front 1240 - 1339 •
Russia, Poland, Hungary, the Byzantines and the Tartars
58. King Edward I of England & King Philip IV of France •
59. Scandinavia to 1375 •
60. Iberia 1285 to 1350ish •
61. England & the 100 years War, part One •
62. Scandinavia 1340 - 1470 •
63. 100 Years War after the Black Death 1350 - 1380
64. The Holy Roman Empire etc 1328 to 1420ish •
The Holy Roman Empire, Bohemia, Hungary, Poland & their connexions in Italy.
65. Religion & other Troubles 1400 - 1480
Popes & anti-Popes, Jan Hus, the Kingdom of Naples & early Renaissance Art
66. Timur, Russia, Lithuania & Hussites 1370 - 1437
...or Tamerlaine & did you have any idea how important Lithuania would become?
67. England and France from 1360 - 1396
68 England and France 1396 - 1415
69. Agriculture & other popular culture
Farming, markets, football, literacy and science
70. England's downfall in France 1415 - 1453
Defeat in the 100 Years War
The Renaissance's great leaps forward
71. Northern Italy and Empires
The little City States of Northern Italy, Venice, Serbia, Switzerland, the Eastern Front & the Fall of Constantinople
72. Iberia 15thC
The Moors are in a box & the Portuguese go exploring by sea.
73. The Dreadful reign of Henry VI of England
...and the Wars of the Roses until the apparent Yorkist victory.
74. France, Burgundy & Russia
The struggle of Burgundy to re-create Lotharingia. Russia grows up & Poland rises
75. Stewart Scotland from David II to James I and VI 1371 - 1603
76. The Wars of the Roses part two
King Edward IV, King Richard III, King Henry VII wins but struggles with revolts
77. East Europe, Russia & Italy
Poland, Hungary, Bohemia & the rise of Russia, Naples & Italy, Turks & the French invasion of Italy.
78. The Renaissance-1
Petrarch, Boccaccio, Campin, van Eyck, van der Weyden, Memling, Petrus Chritus, Masaccio, Brunelleschi & Piero della Francesca
79. Iberia from 1460 - 1500
Portugal & Spain. The navigators go to sea from Bristol, Portugal & Columbus.
80. The Renaissance-2
Uccelo, Lippi, da Messina, Botticelli with music by Binçois & Ockeghen
The Early Modern period
81. Leonardo da Vinci
The Universal Genius
82. Iberia, Italy and Habsburgs
The Portuguese Empire, the Habsburgs move on Spain, Italian wars, Switzerland, Venice & the Borgias
83. Scandinavia 1470 - 1533 and England 1500 - 1521
The breaking of the Kalmar Union & King Henry VII of England
84. Dürer & Raphael
The German print-maker & the 'Marmite' painter
85. Michaelangelo & the rebuilding of St.Peter's, Rome
86. East Europe 1457 - 1530ish
87. God problems
The lead up to, & the early Reformation to 1531
88. King Henry VIII of England
89. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to 1540
90. Loose ends from the early 16th Century
Portugal. The Spanish in South America. Ongoing religious wars.
91. The later Tudors
Edward IV & Mary
92. Lucas Cranach
Mostly 'the Elder'
93. Ivan the Terrible
94. Suleiman the Magnificent
The Ottoman Sultan
95. Elizabeth I of England & Philip II of Spain
....to the 1588 Armada
96. Ferdinand & France
The Holy Roman Emperor, the Catholic Church & French Wars of Religion with music
97. More about matters Religious
More French Wars, contemporary religious beliefs, science & Titian
98. Elizabeth and Philip part 2
England & Spain
99. The Baltic & East from the later 16th Century
More Astronomy, Sweden & Poland & Russia's Time of Troubles
100. Later 16th Century Arts
Corregio, Anguissola, Fontana, Longhi, Galizia & Caravaggio
101. Italy & Turks
The small states of Italy, the Turks after Suleiman & some music
102. History of Italian Opera
A broad sweep from 1598 to 1985
The 17th Century
103. The Thirty Years War 1618 - 1648
The run-up in France, Netherlands & Sweden, then, the horror
104. Early Stuarts in England
Elizabethan Poor Law, James I & IV, Charles I's early reign
105. Peter Paul Rubens
106. France & Spain early 17thC
107. Points East 17thC
Russia, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth & Turks
108. Rembrandt
The Greatest Painter
109. England under Charles I
From 1628, through the 11 Years Tyranny to 1642
110. Civil War in England
The First War from 1642 to 1646.
111. The English Civil War part 2
The Second War, the trial & execution of Charles I & the war in Ireland
112. Venice and Turks
The protracted war over Crete, other contributors & knock-on effects.
113. England - The Commonwealth and Restoration
114. The Spanish Artists El Greco and Velasquez
El Greco was (guess what?) Greek but worked mainly in Spain.
115. Western Europe 1650-1668
Mostly France, Spain, the Dutch, Portugal & a bit about England.
116. Switzerland from 1291 - 1653
From the founding of the Eydtgnosschafft to the Hüttwil League
117. East from 1645, West from 1667 to 1674
Much about Russia + Poland, the Turks, the Dutch & Louis XIV of France then, some pictures by Vermeer
118. The Dutch Golden Age
Dutch artists: Hals & Ruysdael, with contemporary music.
119. Scandinavia and England
1660 -1699 in Scandinavia & King Charles II in England & the advance of Science.
120. Henry Purcell 1659 - 1695
The greatest English composer & at that time, the greatest living composer.
121. Europe 1664 - 1690
Italy, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, Austria, the Turks, Russia & back to France
122. James II of the UK & the Glorious Revolution
The Catholic king, his removal & WilliamnMary, the joint monarchs plus the Agricultural Revolution.
123. At the Court of Louis XIV
...& a catch-up on the Turks
The 18th Century's great leaps forward
124. The War of the Spanish Succession
...from the death of King Carlos II of Spain without issue.
125. Queen Anne of Britain
A one-time disparaged monarch who did very well.
126. Peter the Great of Russia to 1718
...& his involvement with Karl (Charles) XII of Sweden & August “the Strong” of Poland
127. Early 18th Century
The Turks are pushed back further. French & English monarchs change & find themselves allies.
128. 18thC economics & Events to 1740
Bad investments in Britain & France. British politics Poland, Sweden & the end of Peter the Great.
129. Johann Sebastian Bach 1685 - 1750
His Life & Works with copious musical examples & pictures.
130. Denmark, Italy & Portugal
A catch-up before the War of the Austrian Succession
131. William Hogarth
The painter, print-maker & satirist who shows us what 18th Century England looked like.
132. France & Prussia
France catches up with 1740, then all hell lets loose (again) with the War of the Austrian Succession.
133. The Enlightenment
134. The Jacobites
So-called “Bonnie” Prince Charlie's revolt & what happened to him.
135. The Seven Year's War part One
1754 to 1758 in North America & in Mainland Europe, Friedrich der Grosse versus Maria Therase of Austria.
136. The Seven Year's War part Two
1759 to 1763 in India & in Mainland Europe (yes, 9 years)..
137. Witches
A history of Witchcraft until the demise of it as a crime in the late 18th Century.
138. Joseph Haydn 1732 - 1809, the Father of so much
The life & works of the most underestimated of the top 6 composers
139. Pirates
The curse of piracy over the centuries.
140. Gainsborough and Reynolds
Rival British painters of the middle 18th Century/p>
141. Energy
Sources of energy up to the early Industrial Revolution
142. The Pacific Ocean
British exploration.
143. After the Seven Years War
Events mostly to the East of Europe up to 1789
144. The North-West Passage
The fascinating search over nearly four centuries for a quick route to China.
145. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The life & works of a leading 18thC composer.
146. France to 1783
France's financial problems to 1783
147. The American War of Independence
....from Britain with a little help from France
148. Other players to 1789
Scandinavia, Russia, South America, the Netherlands, Britain & France
149. Slavery in the 18th Century
The success of the movements to abolish the slave trade with a catch-up on earlier abolitionist attempts.
150. Angelike Kauffman & Elizabeth Vigée leBrun
Two major women painters of the late 18th & early 19th Centuries
The Birth-pangs of Modern Europe
151. The French Revolution
France 1789 to 1791
152. Reactions to the French Revolution
....in Scandinavia, Prussia, Austria & Britain with France to 1793
153. The Reign of Terror
France (mostly Paris) from June 2nd 1793 to July 28th 1794
154. Poland & Catherine the Great
The disappearance of Poland, the death of Catherine & the first few years of Tsar Pavel (Paul)
155. After 9 Thermidor
France after the coup against Robespierre
156. During the French Directory
Events in England & in Ireland. France under the Directory. Wars to the Treaty of Campo Formio.
157. Caspar David Friedrich
The birth of Romanticism in Germany
158. The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
From his Egyptian Expedition, the War of the 2nd Coalition & the Irish Revolt
159. Ludwig van Beethoven
The greatest composer yet.
160. The War of the Second coalition part Two
1799 The French in Italy, actions in the Netherlands, South Germany & Iberia to the Peace of Amiens in 1802
161. John Constable
The British proto-impressionist painter
162. JMW Turner
Constable's great rival, a harbinger of abstraction
163. King George III of Britain & Europe after the Peace of Amiens
This includes George III's early life story
164. Napoleon's years of success
From 1803 to 1808
165. The Peninsular War part One
The war up to the Summer of 1809 & the Austrians declare War on France
166. The Peninsular War part Two
1809 to 1812
167. Napoleon's big mistake
Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Wellington's advance in Spain. The doings of the French emigrès.
168. The Fall of Napoleon
The campaign in Germany 1813 & the first restoration of Louis XVIII.
169. The Congress of Vienna
...interrupted by Napoleon's 100 days. The later doings of the Bonaparte Family.
170. The History of the Waltz
171. Clearing up after Napoleon
Repression under the restored Ancien Regimes. The British search for royal heirs.
The 19th Century from 1815 to 1860ish
172. Europe 1815 - 1823
More repression but revolutionary stirrings.
173. Franz Schubert
The composer, best known for his songs, who came to maturity through the repression
174. The 1820s to 1830 all over Europe
A Cook's tour of Britain, the Netherlands, Prussia, France, Austria, Russia, Britain again, Greece, Britain again, Portugal & Spain.
175. Science 1800
A brief look at huge advances from semi-Medieval Chemistry & Physics to something recognisable today.
176. 1830 - Year of Revolutions part One
France started it. Then, Sweden & Scandinavia, Belgium, Greece & Poland.
177. Hector Berlioz
France’s greatest composer so far.
178. 1830 - Year of Revolutions part Two
Britain’s two peaceful revolutions, the Zollverein, Portugal & Brazil, Spain’s civil war & Portugal’s civil war.
179. 1830 - Year of Revolutions part Three
Italy, German intellectual life, Britain, Egypt, More from Britain, France & Serbia
180. Robert Schumann
The Romantic Revolution in Music.
181. The 1840s
Austria & Hungary, Turkey & Egypt, Britain & Ireland, More about Egypt, France, Spain & Portugal, Russia & the Netherlands
182. The Barbizon school and Courbet
French painting between the 1st Revolution & the Impressionists
183. The Year 1848 part One
Revolutions almost everywhere until June 1848
184. Railways
....& other technical advances.
185. Cholera
....& advances in medicine & hygiene
186. Richard Wagner
The Romantic Revolution in Opera.
187. The Year 1848 part Two
Revolutions almost everywhere after June 1848 but not doing so well
188. British Colonial ventures
Contention with the Boers in South Africa, David Livingstone, Opium Wars in China & More Conquest of India
189. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
One of only two British Modern Art movements
190. 1850s and Crimean War
The background to & the conduct of the war from 1854 to 1856
191. The Indian Mutiny
...or the 1st War of Independence if you are Indian. the 1857 revolt against British Rule.
Nations unified & the rise of Nationalism
192. The Risorgimento
How Italy largely united by 1865
193. Iberia and Germany
From the mistule of Isabella II of Spain & her overthrow. An update on Portugal.
The Russians crush the Polish Revolt, aided by the Prussians, who crush the Danes & Austrians.
194. Napoleon III
Not as great as his alleged uncle but a lot better than most people think until captured in the Franco-Prussian War.
195. Franz Liszt
A great pianist who never stopped evolving as a composer & who would do anything for anyone.
196. Paul Cezanne
The Father of Modern Art & the greatest painter since Rembrandt.
197. Europe to 1871
The Turks after the Crimean War, Britain after the Indian Mutiny, Austria & Romania after 1849 & France until March 1871
198. France, Ireland and the Balkans
The Paris Commune & the revival of France. The rise of nationalism in Ireland & the Balkans.
199. The Impressionists
Monet, Renoir, Sisley & Pissarro with their inspirations Boudin & Manet.
200. Scandinavia to World War One
The more-or-less self-contained history of Sweden, Norway & Denmark, with an excursion into Evolution.
201. Edvard Grieg
Norway's greatest composer & the rise of nationalism in music.
The Age of Imperialism
202. Balkan Wars & the Great Carve-up
The Russo-Turkish war & knock-on events. The Great Powers carve up Africa & other parts of the World.
203. Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Russia's greatest composer, so far.
204. Africa 1863-1885
Goings on the the European Powers up to the Congress of Berlin
205. Iberia and Russia to 1890
Sorting out the mess after the Glorious Revolution in Spain. The reign of Alexanders II & III
206. Vincent Van Gogh
The beginning of Expressionism in visual art
207. France, Austria and Britain
Catching up om France & Britain. Scandal in Austria.
208. The Great Powers mid-1890s
Great Power rivalries before the turn of the Century events
209. Gustav Mahler 1860 - 1911
The composer who took the path from Romanticism to Expressionism
210. The Dreyfus Affair
A military scandal. The first great showdown between republican & reactionary forces in France
211. The Boer War
Britain conquers the Boer (Dutch) Republics in South Africa
212. Iberia and Russia go into the 20th Century
Spain loses Cuba & the Philippines. Anarchists are active at home. The Spanish find themselves at war with the USA & lose.
Portugal has a Republican Party & a new King. They get into a row with Britain in Africa but the perpetual Friendship Treaty holds.
In Russia, Tsar Nicholas upsets everyone. Japan modernises. Russia gets into a war with Japan & is whacked.
213. Edward Elgar 1857 - 1934
Perhaps England’s joint greatest composer, there was more to him than popular coneeption.
214. Italy, Germans & Britain into the 20th Century (In preparation)
215. Art in France
The consequences of the post-Impressionists: the Fauves & the Cubists (In preparation)
216. Arnold Schönberg 1874 - 1951
The Father of “nasty modern music” but a logical advance in musical technique.
The Run-up to the First World War
217. Upsets in the 1900s (In preparation)
Revolution in Russia, assassinations, the Balkans
218. Fatal Competition
How competition on the North Atlantic steamship route lead to the sinking of the Titanic.
219. Votes for Women (In preparation)
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Contact: Ken Baldry, 17 Gerrard Road, Islington, London best by e-mail
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