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

Sunday, April 28, 2024

The Philharmonia with Suzuki and Queyras in Schumann and Dvorak - another case of "no superlatives"

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Some time ago, for a review of the concert in Alicante’s ADDA auditorium, I used the headline “No superlatives”. I chose the words not becau...

Friday, April 26, 2024

A Long Way from Home - Peter Carey

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A Long Way From Home is a novel that takes the reader a long way from any comfort zone. It is challenging in many ways and perhaps it is onl...

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan

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Unusually, I am not going to write a full review of this. To say I was disappointed by the book would be an understatement. It was clear wha...

Monday, April 22, 2024

ADDA Simfonica and Trio Vibrart in Beethoven

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Again the program looked familiar. The only thing that appeared not to be predictable was the playing. And on that score, the ADDA orchestra...

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...

Monday, April 8, 2024

The Gonzalo Soriano International Piano Competition in Alicante announces its winners

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For the second time, Caroline and I have completed an edition of the Concurso Internacional de Piano de la Ciudad de Alicante Gonzalo Sori...

Sunday, April 7, 2024

ADDA Simfonica in Bernstein and Mahler with Josep Vicent and Josu de Solaun

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Some concerts are different from the norm. Some turn out to be different, some look different from the start. Last Friday in ADDA, Aliante, ...

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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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