Stan Graham's Leisure Guide for North and West Yorkshire
Here I am again at the wonderful Howard Assembly Room. I am not complaining, you understand, quite the opposite, the place has expanded my musical knowledge beyond all expectations. This evening we left the world of experimentation behind for a concert of works by Beethoven, Haydn and an encore from Elgar. The Doric String Quartet…
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I must admit to having a soft spot for this musical. In 1958, when I was eight years old, it was the first film I went to see with both my mum and dad. My mum used to take me to the local flea pit every Wednesday evening for the early performance as she worked…
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To quote from the blurb on Howard Assembly Room’s website for this event, ‘Unquiet is the progressive new live experience devised by acclaimed conductor and composer Robert Ames and brought to life by the world renowned Manchester Camerata alongside a rotating cast of artists’. Can’t argue with that. Manchester Camerata’s website describes it as ‘A…
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Another week, another Orpheus. You would think I would be getting a bit bored by the story by now after having reviewed so many takes on it in so short a time, but each has put its own twist on the tale making it seem fresh every time. The story started life as a myth…
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Is your regular supermarket trip like doing your ironing, when you go onto automatic pilot to get the job done as quickly as possible, or do you savour the experience, taking your time to contemplate and meditate as you struggle to keep your trolley progressing in a straight line? Should you be in the first…
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I am getting to be a bit of a Courtney Pine groupie, having seen him last October at Howard Assembly Room touring his album SONG (The Ballad Book) This time he was playing pieces from his new offering, Spirituality. I am pleased to say that the incredibly talented pianist Zoe Rahman was with him again…
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On Monday, 17th October, it will be 60 years to the day since a spotty, overweight East Leeds slum kid sat down with his mum after tea to watch the local ITV regional news programme, People and Places. There were only two channels back then, both in black and white, and very little popular music…
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How cool is this? This morning, the rapper, human beatbox, writer, singer and all-round great guy Testament, did a pop-up performance at Released Records in the wonderful Leeds Corn Exchange. The event was supposed to kick-off at 9.00am but because of conditions on the car park aka M62 it was a bit late in getting…
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Some words get overused or expanded to include those not worthy but Linton Kwesi Johnson is a luminary, in not just one field but two. His poetry has seen him become the first black person to have their work included in Penguin’s Modern Classics, and only the second living poet to be so honoured. His…
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I had been looking forward to seeing this play for some time but that can sometimes mean I set myself up for a disappointment, not here however. As it happens the evening proved to be an education, and I am not just referring to the drama on stage. I have mentioned before that press nights…
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Tyke It To The Limit 