Philip Spires
Author of five novels, short stories and book on rugby league
http://www.philipspires.co.uk Read More
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I have kept a commonplace book for many years. In recent times, it has become just a workbook to support my research on Philippine education. But now, via a blog, I want to recreate what it used to be, 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.
This
is a masterpiece of story-telling. It is short - about 130 pages - and tells
the tale of a man living an isolated life in New England. The time is not
specific, but the feel is always c… Read More
These
extracts from the writings of David Hume concentrate on his views on religious
belief. The Dialogues are clearly inspired by the writings of Plato in that, at
least ostensibly, they ar… Read More
 Ian McEwan’s
novel The Children Act is probably as close to the label masterpiece as any
piece of fiction might get. Having just read David Hume  Read More
 Anton Bruckner was born in 1824, meaning this year is
his bicentenary. In recognition of this, the new season of Alicante concerts
opened with a performance of his Seventh Symph… Read More
 In The Stories of Eva Luna, Isabel Allende presents a
collection of stories ostensibly told by Ralph Carlé’s partner. Ralph is a
television journ… Read More
Aaron’s Rod by DH Lawrence is a perplexing novel. It seems to represent two quite different aspects of the writer’s creativity. One side has him reflecting on working class life… Read More
In Alps and Sanctuary Samuel Butler walks various alpine passes, visits
many small towns and villages, comments on art and architecture, and drinks
considerable amounts of wine. The author w… Read More
A Month in Yorkshire by Walter White is a superb book.
First published in 1861, it was one of the first travel books designed for a
new kind of leisure, which we now called tourism. Railwa… Read More
A Journey to Crete, Constantinople, Naples and
Florence - Three Months Abroad by Anna Vivanti was published, originally for
private circulation, in 1865. Thus we embark on one woman’s… Read More
poetry:to me
is about passing
images that
sometimes
stick but often
pass by only
to return
un:announced when le
ast expected
often it SlavishlY
conforms to
rules as opaque as
their… Read More
The
Work Of Nations by Robert B Reich was published in 1991, written, therefore,
prior to that year. In the book, the author describes the role of the business enterprise,
with specific refe… Read More
Concerts seasons often parade a procession of “great works”
calculated to promote ticket sales. Anything less well known is often regarded
as risky because audiences, though they… Read More
“Such stuff as dreams are made on, we are all spirits
and are melted into air” are words that ought to remind us of the ephemeral,
temporal nature of human life, that such good t… Read More
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
because I wanted to question the qual… Read More
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 only a determined reader armed with perseverance
who… Read More
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 what Ian McEwan was trying to do.
His problem was tha… Read More
Again the program looked familiar. The only thing that
appeared not to be predictable was the playing. And on that score, the ADDA
orchestra under Joseph Vicente, fronted by Trio Vibrart, we… Read More
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 groups when you have heard a lot of them. In over f… Read More
For the second time, Caroline and I have completed an edition
of the Concurso Internacional de Piano de la Ciudad de Alicante Gonzalo Soriano
con el Conservatorio Jose Tomas. One
hundr… Read More
Some concerts are different from the norm. Some turn
out to be different, some look different from the start. Last Friday in ADDA,
Aliante, our concert fell into both categories.
The start… Read More
I was unaware of Veblen’s ideas until a recent edition of In Our Time on BBC Radio 4 devoted an hour of discussion to his life and work. So stimulating did I find the discussion that I… Read More
Orchestras on tour often take some of their home
repertoire with them. In the case of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra under the
direction of Andris Poga in Alicante last night, this took th… Read More
It is at least forty years since I heard a concert
performance of a Bach Passion. It is probably a decade since I heard a complete
performance. I am not a believer in Christian myth. I canno… Read More
This was a very special concert. It will live in the
memory for as long as breath continues. It was nothing less than a triumph of
artistic direction on behalf of Josep Vicent. All three fea… Read More
La Vida Breve by Manuel de Falla is a problematic
work. Its problem stems mainly from the fact
that it is an opera that lasts just over an hour. Productions of it generally
have to be combin… Read More
Something special was experienced by the ADDA audience
last night. On the face of it, the concert was almost conventional, as concerts
sometimes can appear on paper. There was to be a Beetho… Read More
The Hallé Orchestra has
a very long history and tradition. Part of its tradition is to develop long and
lasting relationships with its principal conductors. If history provides the
pa… Read More
This was a concert of
two halves, both superb, both contrasted, both within and between. Shostakovich
in the first half and Ravel in the second provided the between contrast between.
The wor… Read More
Gustavo Gimeno conducted the Orquestra de la Comunitat
Valenciana in the latest concert of ADDA’s Pasions season. The program juxtaposed
two symphonies that were premiered about thirty… Read More
Beethoven’s Ninth
Symphony is one of those works I can hear anytime I want. I play it to myself
in my head - at least, I think I do. It's
a work I and many others have heard so many ti… Read More
Philip Spires
Author of five novels, short stories and book on rugby league
http://www.philipspires.co.uk Read More
Philip Spires
Author of five novels, short stories and book on rugby league
http://www.philipspires.co.uk Read More
When writing reviews, the pressure to express opinion
often leads to overstatement. It is a position. I usually try to avoid, and I
do so by concentrating on the positive aspects of the obje… Read More
For the third time this season, Alicante’s
ADDA audience heard a major piece by Richard Strauss. The Violin Concerto is an
early work, written when the young man was a teenager and sti… Read More
Philip Spires
Author of five novels, short stories and book on rugby league
http://www.philipspires.co.uk Read More
Surprises come when least expected. On entering the
ADDA auditorium, it was at least a shock to see so little of the stage
occupied. So used have we become to seeing a platform crammed with… Read More
When it comes to star billing, in the world of so-called classical music, there is no bigger ticket than Antonio Pappano directing the London Symphony Orchestra. The maestro, who perhaps wil… Read More
Philip Spires
Author of five novels, short stories and book on rugby league
http://www.philipspires.co.uk Read More
The word memorable is much overused. It now tends to signify something that is rather bland, an experience unworthy of being labelled “world class”, “incredible”, &ld… Read More
ProgramaRichard
Strauss, Muerte y Transfiguración Op.24 23:00
Hector Berlioz,
La muerte de Cleopatra 22:00
I. C’en est
donc fait! 03:00
II. Ah! Qu’ils… Read More
István I. SzékelyIstván is a concert pianist and internationally recognised teacher. He is Professor at the Conservatorio Superior Katarina Gurska in Madrid and professo… Read More
The
Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafaq is a novel about Cyprus and its recent
history. Via the love affair and developing relationship between Kostas and
Defne, the author examines the r… Read More
I remember watching Gore Vidal on television, usually
on one of those talk shows he seems to view with contempt. He seemed to be a
living opinion. Switch him on and opinions stream out. But… Read More
The
word “delicacy” can mean many things. It can signify refinement in a
personality, something good to eat, or describe something too fragile to
handle. Situations can be delica… Read More
Mixing the familiar with the less familiar is a common
programming tool. The popular work brings them in, and you broaden the audience’s
taste - or even surprise them! - with the less… Read More
Surprise, surprise might seem an incongruous title for
the review of a concert which seemed to offer a-middle-of-the-road programme.
Sibelius’s Finlandia began the evening – it o… Read More
Thirty-Five Poems by Herbert Read, I repeat
Stavesacre – a larkspur plant or its seeds
Benison - benediction
Sodality – fellowship, concgregaion, association for
chairty
Cinc… Read More
Sally Rooney’s Normal People is a hugely successful
and very widely read novel about millennials. It concentrates on the
relationships that develop in a group of school graduates as th… Read More
Concert programs nowadays are often themed. Sometimes
the idea is obvious, sometimes trite, but even attempting to present such a
program is preferable to a parade of pop classics. Sometimes… Read More
