Philip Spires commonplace book

I have kept a commonplace book for many years. It's a place where scraps of impressions are filed for future reflection. It's not a diary, it's just a mental scrapbook, concentrating on book reviews, concert reviews, visual arts and some occasional pieces on travel. It is also a place where I occasionally reflect on what I write. Details of my books can be found at http://www.philipspires.co.uk

Showing posts with label orchestra. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Costa Blanca Arts Update - Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky in Alicante's ADDA

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Two concerts on consecutive days might be considered by some as a live event to far, especially when the concerts feature big, autobiograp...

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Costa Blanca Arts Update – Orquesta de Valencia under Trigueros and guitarists in Alicante

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Two concerts in five days might sound quite a lot, but we achieved that by skipping the others on offer. But could one imagine two more diff...

Monday, October 18, 2021

Costa Blanca Arts Update - ADDA presents Garcia Abril and Kallinikov

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ADDA Simfonica’s second concert of the season something of a rarity, in that it featured just two works, neither of which would have been f...

Friday, December 4, 2020

Costa Blanca Arts Update - ADDA Simfonica in Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky and Mozart

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The symphony orchestra may rank among the most important of all human inventions. The fact that the very idea is absurd makes it a gem of hu...

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Costa Blanca Arts Update - Miraculous Bartok from Valencia Youth

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A full symphony orchestra in full flight is a thoroughly rousing experience. When that is combined with a programme that offers contrasting ...

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About Me

philipspires: I was born in Wakefield and was brought up in Sharslton, a mining Village. I went to London University and then became a maths teacher, working initially as a volunteer teacher in Kenya. I spent sixteen years in London, in Balham and Islington. In 1992, I left Britain for Brunei and then Zayed University in Abu Dhabi. I currently live in La Nucia, near Benidorm in Spain. I am interested in the relationship between nature and nurture, birthright and experience. Themes of culture and identity and their relation to economic and social roles underpin my writing. What we are born into relates to what we become, but we are rarely in control. What others do, our interests and intellects and the way we choose to earn a living, all of these shape us into what we become. It may be that culture is the sum of all assumptions that others make on our behalf, whereas identity represents our reactions to them. I did a PhD on the effects of education in economic development in the Philippines. I was President of Alfas del Pi Music Society for twelve years.

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