October 31st, 2011
“Fabulous play on Saturday, really powerful and thought provoking. Thank you!” That was one member’s comments in an email this Monday morning after our visit to the Vaudeville Theatre on Saturday to see Broken Glass by Arthur Miller.
The rest of our group on Saturday seemed to agree that the play, about a New York Jewish couple in 1938 and how they are affected by what happens to German Jews on the night of the ‘Kristallnacht’, brilliantly explored, as Miller does so well, the angst and absurdities of the human condition. We had great seats near the front of the stalls from which to enjoy powerful performances from Antony Sher and Tara Fitzgerald in the leading roles.
Prior to the play our group had the chance to get acquainted over a glass or two of wine and delicious Italian meal at a nearby West End restaurant. All in all, a most stimulating evening!
At Classical Partners we aim to provide a wide variety of social events for members to attend and meet like-minded people. To that end, our next theatre outing offers somewhat lighter fare – a new production of Michael Frayn’s sparkling, multi-award winning comedy, Noises Off. Directed by Lindsay Posner and starring Robert Glenister and Celia Imrie, this new production at The Old Vic is sure to be thoroughly entertaining. See
http://www.oldvictheatre.com/whatson.php?id=80
Other cultural treats planned for the New Year include a spectacular production of Aida at the Royal Albert Hall and some superb concerts at the Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall and Cadogan Hall. See our Events page for further details - http://www.classicalpartners.co.uk/Events.html
Posted in Find Love, Food, Social events, Theatre and the Arts, meet others | No Comments »
October 3rd, 2011
What a civilised place the Wigmore Hall is! Members of Classical Partners who gathered there on Sunday 2nd October for one of our regular visits to Coffee Concerts enjoyed a fantastic recital followed by delicious lunch in the Wigmore Restaurant.
The quality of the performances seems to be better every time we go and the Hall’s marvellous acoustic enhances the recital even more. This week we were treated to the Kungsbacka Piano Trio, named after the Swedish town in which they gave their first performance and where they have established an annual festival. Their programme combined a couple of Beethoven’s most impressive works for piano trio along with a brand new work by Hans Henze which was equally stirring but in a totally different style. The packed hall seemed to lap it up.
Forthcoming treats on offer at the Wigmore Hall include the Nash Ensemble, Nicola Bennedetti, Paul Lewis, Steven Isserlis and Stephen Hough. See http://www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/whats-on
After the recital we adjourned to the Bechstein Room downstairs for the complimentary glass of sherry that accompanies one’s coffee concert ticket and then in to the stylish and elegant but oh-so comfortable Wigmore Restaurant for a leisurely three-course lunch.
After a couple of hours of delicious food, wine and lively conversation, CP members went their various ways, eg one lady on to her choir rehearsal, and another small group of members were last seen heading towards Oxford Street, for a cup of tea and spot of shopping in John Lewis.
We will be back at the Wigmore Hall early in the New Year for another relaxing Sunday outing. Meanwhile members of Classical Partners have some great concerts, theatre and opera to look forward to. If you are interested in attending top class cultural events and meeting like-minded people at the same time – see our Events page for details of what’s coming up http://www.classicalpartners.co.uk/Events.html
Posted in Find Love, Food, Intimate music, Live Music, Relationships, Social events, classical music, meet others, music | 2 Comments »
September 28th, 2011
The Daily Mail today reports on fraudsters who target ‘lonely hearts’ on dating websites.
Apparently as many as 200,000 people may have been persuaded last year to give money to fraudsters using false identities to pursue relationships with them. But because of the shame victims feel, fewer than 600 cases were reported.
The fraudsters, usually tied to organised crime and based outside the UK, often use pictures of models when making contact with their victims on dating sites and then act swiftly to move the ‘relationship’ away from the monitored sites to personal online services such as private email accounts to carry out the fraud. This would usually be claiming to be in need of urgent funds and asking for loans of money, or involving their victims in money laundering by asking them to accept payments in their bank accounts.
Recent research carried out by Leicester University – the first to measure the scale of this relatively new crime – found that in a YouGov poll of more than 2,000 British adults, one in every 50 knew a victim.
Of course it seems hard to imagine anyone handing over money to someone they’ve never met in person but these scammers are highly skilled in the art of manipulating vulnerable people.
Although awareness of online romance scams is increasing, millions of people in the UK remain at risk and the psychological impact experienced by victims can be considerable, even leading to suicide in some cases.
Of course there are plenty of people signed up to internet dating and social networking sites, who are genuinely seeking friendship or romance, but it can take time, a degree of nous and good luck to find the right people. Introduction agencies recommended by the Association of British Introduction Agencies (www.abia.org.uk) will have already screened members so are a much safer bet for those looking to find love or new friendships. To find out more about the sort of people you can meet through Classical Partners, see http://www.classicalpartners.co.uk/Member-profiles.html
Posted in Datng trends, Find Love, Relationships, Safe Dating, Society, Uncategorized, meet others | 1 Comment »
January 24th, 2011
According to the Times last week, the LA Philharmonic Orchestra’s resident conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, is “the coolest man in classical music”, an extraordinary musical talent with the charisma of a Clooney, Pitt or Depp. The young Venezuelan conductor, known to the LA locals as the ‘Dude’, rose to fame as the world-conquering maestro of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra and since October has been music director of the LA Philharmonic.
As part of their first international tour with the Dude, the LA Philharmonic are playing two sell out concerts at the Barbican later this week and Classical Partners has secured 16 tickets for the second of these on Friday 28 January, featuring Mahler’s epic Ninth Symphony.
Classical Partners also saw Dudamel in 2009 at the Royal Festival Hall when he conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra in a performance of Mahler’s 5th Symphony. Those who were with us that evening will I am sure remember what an exciting and moving concert it was, culminating in a long standing ovation for Dudamel and an almost unprecedented level (for a British classical audience) of whooping and cheering!
Dudamel seems to forge a very special connection with the orchestras he conducts and gets memorable performances out of his musicians. He has a special wisdom and humanity for Mahler’s symphonies and, still only at the age of 29, has already twice conducted the Ninth (for which he no longer requires a score) with other orchestras.
We should be in for a treat on Friday!
Posted in Live Music, Social events, Uncategorized, classical music, meet others, music | 2 Comments »
September 13th, 2010
Most of us spend our lives striving for happiness. Recent press reports point out that money, up to a point, can bring contentment. Apparently a salary of up to £50,000 a year can bring happiness but after that more money does not increase happiness. As this is pretty well double the average salary in the UK, this would suggest that the average worker is not happy.
Fortunately, money is not everything. Professor Shira Gabriel in her paper “suggests that the events that end up being most important in our lives, the events that bring us the most happiness and also carry the potential for the most pain, are social events – moments of connecting to others and feeling their connections to us….. It was not independent events or individual achievements like winning awards or completing tasks that affected participants the most, but the moments when close relationships began or ended; when people fell in love or found a new friend; when a loved one died or broke their hearts. In short, it was the moments of connecting to others that touched peoples’ lives the most.”
I have always known that humans are social animals. Professor Gabriel has now shown that we humans experience our most intense experiences when we interact with other individuals. It follows then that to increase our happiness we need to get out there and meet others. So if you are single start dating, expand your social circle, perhaps find a soulmate – and make your life more fulfilling.
Posted in Find Love, Relationships, Society, meet others | 3 Comments »
