Articles written by Philip Spires - Page 2

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About me - Philip Spires

I was born in 1952 in Wakefield, UK and spent my first ten years in Sharlston, then a mining village, followed by eight in Crofton, a mile nearer Wakefield. I went to London University, obtaining a BSc from Imperial College and a PGCE from King's. After two

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Entertainment > Concert Reviews Festival: Nits de la Mediterrania, La Nucia, July 2007: 1 of 1
The final concert of the inaugural La Nucia arts festival took place last night. Starting at 10:30pm, it was staged in the town's recently completed open air auditorium and featured the World Youth Orchestra directed, again masterfully, by Josep Vincent. Given the setting, it would have been so easy to present a procession o... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Political & Economic Theory Sukarno, A Political Biography by J. D. Legge: nationalism revisited.: 1 of 1
I don't read a lot of history, contemporary or otherwise, and when I do, it is usually in the area of political economy. In recent years, for instance, I have delighted at the scholarship and intellect of Eric Hobsbawm. But what always strikes me about history is how perfect our vision can be from the distance of time. Not s... More..
Arts & Humanities > Historical Literature Book reviews: A Ruby in Her Navel, by Barry Unsworth: 1 of 1
A Ruby in Her Navel is yet another superb historical novel by Barry Unsworth. By his phenomenal standards, this book might at first appear somewhat one-paced, even one-dimensional, with its action set firmly in the place and time of its main character, Thurston Beauchamp, a young man in the service of King Roger of Sicily in... More..
Entertainment > Concert Reviews Cultured tangos: Did Astor Piazzolla create a new classical form?: 1 of 1
It may be that in musical retrospect, from a luxury of twenty-twenty critical hindsight, that Astor Piazzolla will be seen as having done in the twentieth century for the tango what Frederick Chopin did in the nineteenth for the waltz. It is perhaps already an accepted position. With the waltz, Chopin took an established pop... More..
Arts & Humanities > British Literature Book reviews: Arthur and George, by Julian Barnes: 1 of 1
Title: Arthur and George Author Julian Barnes Paperback: 512 pages Publisher: Vintage; New Ed edition (6 Jul 2006) Language English ISBN-10: 0099492733 ISBN-13: 978-0099492733 A review of Arthur and George by Julian Barnes George Edalji (that's Ay-dal-ji, by the way, since Parsee names are always stressed on the first syllab... More..
Arts & Humanities > Theater & Drama Opera: Puss in Boots (El Gato con Botas), by Xavier Montsalvatge: 1 of 1
Just occasionally in fact pretty rarely these days something utterly surprising emerges from an evening in a concert hall. Almost forty years into an interest in music which has focused on every style of western music from Gothic to minimalism (perhaps not such a great leap!), real surprises are now quite rare and often come... More..
Arts & Humanities > British Literature Book reviews: A Question of Upbringing, by Anthony Powell: 1 of 1
A review of A Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell Anthony Powell's "A Question of Upbringing" is the first part of his mammoth twelve novel epic "A Dance to the Music of Time". He writes with wit, humour and not a little sarcasm, describing a quintessential Englishness that perhaps was never representative of the societ... More..
Arts & Humanities > British Literature Book reviews: The Black Girl in Search of God (and Some Lesser Tales), by George Bernard Shaw: 1 of 1
The title piece in this anthology is a parable on the nature of religious belief. When first published in 1932 it caused quite a stir and I wondered whether the intervening 75 years might have rendered it something less of a shocker. I found that, apart from one violation of current political correctness and a few inevitable... More..
Entertainment > Concert Reviews Concert reviews: A piano recital by Young-Joo Lee, in Palau Altea, Altea, Spain: 1 of 1
I claim to be a music lover and I attend a lot of concerts and recitals, so I don't try to write a review every time, except for a few notes for my journal. But sometimes the playing is so perfect, the interpretations so poignant that the experience demands a record, if only to help publicise real, perhaps exceptional talent... More..
Arts & Humanities > American Authors Book reviews: Two Weeks Since My Last Confession, by Kate Genovese: 1 of 1
Two Weeks Since My Last Confession is a novel by Kate Genovese. It is a family saga, featuring the O'Briens from Boston, Massachusetts. On the face of things, the O'Briens are an upstanding pillar of the community. John O'Brien is a politician, a senator no less, and a respected and long term incumbent to boot. Marie, Mrs. O... More..