“HOPE” Conferece 2025

A talk by the Revd Oliver Brewer-Lennon presented at “Therefore I Have Hope”, a Dominican Family Conference, Edinburgh, 14 June 2025

What can unfinished music teach us about hope?

Every artistic act assumes a future. It begins with the expectation of completion. But what happens when a work is left unfinished? Is it a failure—or can it still carry the vision and intent of its creator?
    Father Oliver examines unfinished compositions from Mozart to Marvin Gaye, considering what they reveal about creative vision, momentum, and the nature of incompletion. His talk explores how such works might contain glimpses of a hoped-for future—perhaps even more powerfully present in their incompleteness.
    What can unfinished works tell us about artistic confidence and intention? Can something left incomplete still be a testament to hope?

Musical excerpts are used for illustrative and critical purposes under fair use. Full recording details are available on the recording page. →

Cover artwork: Adoration of the Magi, Leonardo da Vinci, c.1481 (Uffizi Gallery, Florence)

Begun but not ended: The hope of the unfinished

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