Graham Rickson 🇮🇪
@grahamrickson.bsky.social
London-raised, Leeds-based primary music teacher, horn and ukulele player, film and classical CD critic, responsible dog and cat owner. Writing things for www.theartdesk.com (@theartsdesk.bsky.social)since 2009. Proud Irish citizen ☘️.
Yes - I did know that! I’ve wanted to hear Gould’s CBC radio documentaries for years - not sure if they’re available on CD or to listen to online.
Talking of Canadian pianists, we saw Angela Hewitt in Leeds on Saturday - turns out that her dad was born here.
Talking of Canadian pianists, we saw Angela Hewitt in Leeds on Saturday - turns out that her dad was born here.
November 26, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Yes - I did know that! I’ve wanted to hear Gould’s CBC radio documentaries for years - not sure if they’re available on CD or to listen to online.
Talking of Canadian pianists, we saw Angela Hewitt in Leeds on Saturday - turns out that her dad was born here.
Talking of Canadian pianists, we saw Angela Hewitt in Leeds on Saturday - turns out that her dad was born here.
I know that one. And I really like Don’t Sleep in the Subway. I’d enjoy Pierrot Lunaire a lot more if Petula Clarke was singing it.
November 26, 2025 at 9:30 PM
I know that one. And I really like Don’t Sleep in the Subway. I’d enjoy Pierrot Lunaire a lot more if Petula Clarke was singing it.
I don’t know that one! Will investigate.
November 26, 2025 at 9:25 PM
I don’t know that one! Will investigate.
They needed to forget all their troubles and forget all their cares…
It’s genuinely uplifting when young children respond to an ‘old’ song with genuine pleasure!
It’s genuinely uplifting when young children respond to an ‘old’ song with genuine pleasure!
November 26, 2025 at 9:20 PM
They needed to forget all their troubles and forget all their cares…
It’s genuinely uplifting when young children respond to an ‘old’ song with genuine pleasure!
It’s genuinely uplifting when young children respond to an ‘old’ song with genuine pleasure!
Didn't know that! There's also the kitchen scene in the same film, where buzzers sound and he bounces the rubber jug before breaking the glass. That the sound effects aren't properly synchronised makes it funnier. I've got this double album, crammed full of incidental music and sound snippets.
November 23, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Didn't know that! There's also the kitchen scene in the same film, where buzzers sound and he bounces the rubber jug before breaking the glass. That the sound effects aren't properly synchronised makes it funnier. I've got this double album, crammed full of incidental music and sound snippets.
This is a recent Paavo J/Arvo Part album on Alpha Classics - it’s stunning, and the best AP disc I’ve heard. Probably my favourite album of the year.
November 23, 2025 at 2:46 PM
This is a recent Paavo J/Arvo Part album on Alpha Classics - it’s stunning, and the best AP disc I’ve heard. Probably my favourite album of the year.
I do two singing assemblies on concert ukulele in one of my schools - it’s one of the highlights of my week. I’m encountering more and more children who just don’t want to sing - it’s heartbreaking.
November 23, 2025 at 2:42 PM
I do two singing assemblies on concert ukulele in one of my schools - it’s one of the highlights of my week. I’m encountering more and more children who just don’t want to sing - it’s heartbreaking.
Websites like SingUp and Sparkyard have scores of really good songs on them - ideal for schools without a staff member who plays the piano - but we can’t let the old bangers become extinct. Religious content aside, they’re culturally important.
November 23, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Websites like SingUp and Sparkyard have scores of really good songs on them - ideal for schools without a staff member who plays the piano - but we can’t let the old bangers become extinct. Religious content aside, they’re culturally important.
I’ve only seen this once and need to watch it again!
November 23, 2025 at 2:29 PM
I’ve only seen this once and need to watch it again!
Tati was always good with sound effects. Listen out for the swinging door - could be a plucked double bass string?
November 23, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Tati was always good with sound effects. Listen out for the swinging door - could be a plucked double bass string?
Love this building - like York Minster but smaller and friendlier. Selby Abbey is also worth visiting.
November 23, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Love this building - like York Minster but smaller and friendlier. Selby Abbey is also worth visiting.
I used to go to free concerts in the Borough Hall in Greenwich, SE London. I think it's now been flogged off and converted into a hotel.
November 23, 2025 at 9:30 AM
I used to go to free concerts in the Borough Hall in Greenwich, SE London. I think it's now been flogged off and converted into a hotel.
Exactly! It's sad to see local authorities with stretched budgets being forced to sell off key assets to raise money.
November 23, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Exactly! It's sad to see local authorities with stretched budgets being forced to sell off key assets to raise money.
Barnsley Town Hall and Leeds Civic Hall are glorious - you can't imagine local authorities building anything so imposing now.
November 23, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Barnsley Town Hall and Leeds Civic Hall are glorious - you can't imagine local authorities building anything so imposing now.
Wow. 'Why you should NOT use ChatGPT' summed up in a single handy image. Made me think of Louis Couperin's unbarred keyboard preludes.
November 23, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Wow. 'Why you should NOT use ChatGPT' summed up in a single handy image. Made me think of Louis Couperin's unbarred keyboard preludes.
A great building. Surely it must have influenced architects in Los Angeles and, er, Barnsley....?
November 23, 2025 at 8:46 AM
A great building. Surely it must have influenced architects in Los Angeles and, er, Barnsley....?
We also have this one:
November 22, 2025 at 10:36 PM
We also have this one:
Further up the main road from those beauties is this octopus bollard. Chapel Allerton in Leeds is art-bollard central.
November 22, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Further up the main road from those beauties is this octopus bollard. Chapel Allerton in Leeds is art-bollard central.