From the aristocrats who awaited Mozart's latest compositions to the pop charts of today, from our desire for the latest fashion to our focus on the latest film or book, the new has driven music and culture for hundreds of years. But that was in an era where access to art was limited. Now we potentially have access to everything. Music from every culture and era, every style, every film, every book.
In this unparalleled space, should we escape the tyranny of the new and seek out the best from the unknown and uncelebrated, from distant lands and other times? Is art not about the novel but about lasting value? Or is the new, though limited by place and time, necessarily more vital than past?
Composer and former musical director at Shakespeare's Globe Claire van Kampen, film director Sophie Fiennes, Observer music journalist Ammar Kalia and art rock icon Brian Eno debate the value of the new.
In association with The Observer