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 schubert. Show all posts

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonia under Paavo Järvi with Maria Dueñas in Schubert and Bruch

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When you have been to a lot of concerts - when you reach a certain age! - real surprises are quite rare. Even new works fall into expected g...

Friday, April 28, 2023

Pinchas Zuckerman with the Sinfonia Varsovia in Penderecki, Schubert and Beethoven – a real delicacy

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The word “delicacy” can mean many things. It can signify refinement in a personality, something good to eat, or describe something too fragi...

Monday, December 6, 2021

Jurowski and Kavakos with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin at ADDA Alicante

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There is nothing standard about performance, nothing predictable about experience, unless, of course, it is drained of all communication by ...

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Costa Blanca Arts Update - Claudi Arimany plays Mozart Flute Quartets and Marco Tezza plays Schubert, Janacek and Schumann

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Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the middle of October, and Alfas del Pi has three concerts in the renewed cycle of La Sociedad de Conciertos ...

Thursday, June 18, 2020

Schubert and his work – Herbert Francis Peyser

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Schubert and his work – Herbert Francis Peyser turns out to be a short and simple account of Schubert’s life. Given when the book was writt...

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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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