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Hugh Morris

@hwfmorris.bsky.social
1.8K followers 1.3K following 688 posts

Writer on music for NYT Guardian Wire Private Eye and more. Digital Editor at @vanmusicmag.bsky.social Email is hughmorris98@gmail.com

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Reposted by Hugh Morris
Jessica Ellis @baddestmamajama.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I have separated the art from the artist and am now whipping the art to stiff peaks, after which I will gently fold it into the artist before baking at 350 til golden and puffed
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claire biddles @msclairebiddles.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
third time this year that i have been denied a press ticket to review something for a major uk newspaper bc the pr is not allocating tickets for 'regional' dates.....music industry becoming more london-centric again in context of shuttering outlets/pr favouring influencers over critics feels bad!
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
New Chris Morris just dropped www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Five UK nationals arrested at RAF Fairford released on bail
Police say alleged offences could have been committed ‘knowingly or unknowingly’ on behalf of a foreign state
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Blyton for the Mr Beast generation
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Marcel Krueger @marcelkrueger.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
First as tragedy, then as farce. Via @andrewgallix.bsky.social on Instagram.
A screenshot of an essay in the Times Literary Supplement with the title “AI and the crisis of the author” which has been removed by the TLS editorial team as it was written using AI.
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VAN Magazine @vanmusicmag.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The conductor Robert Ames's essay on the classical music industry's ignorance of class went viral for The Guardian recently. He spoke with @hwfmorris.bsky.social about his post-LCO plans and the occasions he had to sleep rough as a freelance musician in London. van-magazine.com/mag/robert-a...
van-magazine.com
"Like, What The Hell Are We Doing Here?"
The conductor Robert Ames is departing from the LCO. He talks to Hugh Morris about sleeping rough in London and the need for a "mentality shift" around class.
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
the DCMS brief is too large, sure! but we need a minister in charge of the arts who might, say, spend an evening at a Prom
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Mamdani coming out and saying with his full chest that opera is great and should be for everyone as Lisa Nandy focus-groups herself to a post on X saying that, on balance, we should consider supporting the idea of rugby league
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
... such as her concerto for orchestra being revealed to her in a dream. you know, like in the meme
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
profiled thea musgrave for the new york times. the "using a profanity for emphasis" Timesspeak was cut, unfortunately, but a lot of other stuff made it in. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/a...
nytimes.com
At 98, the Composer Thea Musgrave Is Still Learning (Gift Article)
Musgrave, whose 1977 opera “Mary, Queen of Scots” is opening at the San Francisco Opera, has spent a long career searching for the “dramatic abstract.”
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The RNLI rescued Luftwaffe pilots in WW2 because the organisation is there to 'save life at sea' - it's something to be immensely proud of. But as I've said many times before Farage and Co don't seem to have pride in Britain and its institutions beyond flags and crap Enoch Powell said 60 years ago.
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
and wrote about the new Sissi Rada album for this New York Times roundup www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/a...
nytimes.com
5 Classical Music Albums You Can Listen to Right Now
Verdi’s Requiem out of Cleveland, Missy Mazzoli’s “Breaking the Waves” out of Houston and a fresh approach to art song are among our selections.
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Website refresh! hughmorrismusic.co.uk
hughmorrismusic.co.uk
Hugh Morris • Writer
Music journalist, critic, editor and copywriter based in London.
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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Regular reminder that JG Ballard’s final novel, “Kingdom Come” (2006), is about a far-right English town which creates their own militarised breakaway state in a shopping mall, where they worship the gods of St George and consumerism. Old JG wrote it as tongue-in-cheek satire. At the time.
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
rip to an inspiration www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/w...
nytimes.com
Toyohiro Akiyama, Japan’s Chain-Smoking ‘Space Antihero,’ Dies at 84
A journalist, he was the first Japanese person to enter space, joining a Soviet crew as part of a spectacular $35 million ratings stunt in 1990.
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
claim to fame - we were in the same brass band for a while!
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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Surprising this story isn't getting more coverage...
portsmouth.co.uk
Protestors confuse Pakistan cricket team for migrants after gathering at hotel
Misinformation caused groups of people to gather at The Marriott Hotel
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Charles Fourier @charlesfourier.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Bill Bryson’s words seem appropriate to post right now
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
My interview with Kibo, a generational talent, is up on the Guardian this afternoon! www.theguardian.com/music/2026/s...
theguardian.com
‘Cantona’s a Kwengletarian!’ Inside the maximalist, magical mentality of rising London Irish rapper Kibo
The masterful ​Harrow MC behind the year’s funniest, most inventive UK rap debut explains how his parents sparked his ravenous outlook – and why he’s wrestling his peers
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Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 08/09/2026
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Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
If "legitimate concerns" were considered to excuse illegitimate methods, then nobody from Just Stop Oil or Palestine Action would have been arrested. So we know it doesn't. In fact that phrase is only ever used in one context. Only in that context is uniformed mob intimidation "peaceful protest"
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Nick Robinson on Today is literally talking about ‘legitimate concerns’ after second night of organised men dressed in black - sorry ‘protesters’ - mobilising en masse in another littoral town. This is how street fascism is normalised
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
The Nigel Farage and Reform foreign donations scandal excluded from all but one national newspaper front page this morning. No sign of it at all on the front pages of the two papers which splashed the polls secretly funded by a Reform donor earlier this year
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Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Stop whatever you’re doing & watch this now! Reform’s magic money tree has been bust wide open. Huge kudos to undercover reporters Verbatim via @channel4news.bsky.social youtu.be/aXut3s90rUI?... huge
youtu.be
Undercover: Exposing Reform's secret donations plot
YouTube video by Channel 4 News
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Carmen CP @carmenchloie.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
since this is literally my job, I have to share this excellent article with a hearty "hell yes" @vanmusicmag.bsky.social van-magazine.com/mag/defense-...
van-magazine.com
In Defense of the Program Note
On his first visit to London in 1851, Hector Berlioz attended several chamber music concerts at The Musical Union, a subscription series run by impresario John Ella. His dispatches from the city were ...
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
New writing on Sarah davachi www.nytimes.com/2026/08/30/a...
nytimes.com
Sarah Davachi’s Music: A Manifesto for Listening Closely
Sarah Davachi’s “The Will of Tongues” is a collection of music that refuses extremes and requires undivided attention.
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Rachel Rees @rachel-rees.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
As honoured as I am to see that The Times has picked up my Chagos article practically *word for word*, including my hard-gotten quotes, I’d prefer some credit — or for everyone to read my original FT piece! free link to read the evidently enviable article below (cheaper than a Times sub!) 🌴
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
New writing on Sarah davachi www.nytimes.com/2026/08/30/a...
nytimes.com
Sarah Davachi’s Music: A Manifesto for Listening Closely
Sarah Davachi’s “The Will of Tongues” is a collection of music that refuses extremes and requires undivided attention.
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
youse <3 a great bit of north east (England) dialect that has new inclusive possibilities
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Profiled floating points for the New York Times it’s out now in print in the Sunday paper www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/a...
nytimes.com
He Is Making Music for the Dance Floor, and the Ballet Stage
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
a gorgeous tribute
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Joel @itsjoels.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
This is the letter kids got at the end of Dolly’s Imagination Library. I defy you to read this and not cry.
Sorry, I can’t type that.
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
oh yes oh yes
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Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
“if we don’t stand up for the free speech of racists, it puts everyone’s free speech in danger.” - guy who only ever talks about free speech when it’s racism
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Sure, the sex scenes line steals the show, but out of context it misses the extremely brutal lead-up to it… devastating paragraph
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Leah Broad @leahbroad.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
I get so sick of being told that there has been no gender-based prejudice against women musicians. So here are some genuine reviews written about women, between 1893 & 2021, with a couple words/letters changed to make them about men.
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
1000 key playersons
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
marvellous work from @katewagner.wehwalt.net with a proper and detailed critical appraisal here. Good stuff too on “slop” as a means of avoiding critiquing / historicising AI
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 14/08/2026
This is the coverage of Arday **just in the Telegraph** in the UK. This is only the first four pages of results, just in one outlet.
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Jason Arday found dead
2 hours ago — Mr Arday was found •unresponsive• at an address in Battersea. south London. on Froy
afternoon. He was uter pronounced dead at the scene. A Read rnore
Jason Arday says he was an illiterate, mute child. His .
6 hours ago — Jason Arday says he was an i&erate. mute child. Cambridge's youngest-ever black
professor in 2023. Arday attended from the age of four to 11
r— mm-WI 3
A PhD is no longer a sign of brilliance — take it from Dr Arday
1 day aeo — Juon Arday resigns from the Unwersity of Cambrdge after The Telegraph reports he had
falseb• claimed to have pubåshed a book
We are all Jason Arday now
S days ago — Jason Arday resons from the University of Cambridge after The Telegraph reports he had
falsew cGimed to have published a book Aug 7.2028. Read more
Cambridge professor claimed he was on Seven Up..
2 Aug 2026 — He was not bom until 1985. Prof Arday is at the centre of a row about academk
plagiarism after The Tekgragh that he had been accused
The Jason Arday 'memoir' that now appears to be more .
7 days ago — Instead of tales of triumph over adversity. the now-fomer Cambridge professors
autob"qraphy is a case study in self-rnythobgising,
Arday failed to mention 'months-long coma' in autobiography
8 days ago — Jason Arday toz publishers he was k•ft a three-month coma fohwhg a car gash. but
never wrote about the ordeal his memoirs_
Jason Arday is living proof that you reap what you sow
6 Aug 2028 — The Cambridge professor feed plagiarism alegations and made fantastical clä'ns about
his life. so what did he expect woUz happen? Read rmre
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Arday 'accused student of Miite privilege' after she
4 days ago — Forrner Cambrdge professor alleged* htplied that Roehamptm student was racist after
cornplaint about essay SOOre.
Jason Arday is rnerely a symptom of the Leffs corruption
Aug 2026 — Lab-curs on school standards is on the same toxic assumptions that created his
academic career.
Cambridge hired Arday after 'listening to black stu…
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
i hope the individuals who made multiple media appearances, wrote multiple articles, and pounced on arday as supposed proof of their multi-level conspiratorial bullshit are reflecting hard on their actions this weekend.
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
many stories at the moment showing just how dangerous this new flat, combustible media landscape is. clicky ponting was a local news story, that turned into the daily mail doorstopping the man's mother-in-law. arday, while clearly needing to answer questions, became global news, and now he is dead.
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Dara O'Reilly @daraor.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Toby Young, a man whose academic credentials relied entirely on nepotism, described Arday as "the gift that keeps on giving," which should haunt him to the end of his days. But, obviously, it won't. Because he's a ghoul.
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Chris Jones @chrisjones1.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
In case of need
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Nadine Batchelor-Hunt @nadinebh.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I feared this would happen. His story was troubling but the wave of hatred and obsession in the media when he was clearly someone who was vulnerable - whatever you thought of him - was entirely disproportionate and in my view fuelled by racists. My thoughts are with his loved ones tonight.
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
amazingly brave take
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
VAN back after the break with two excellent pieces -- get amongst it van-magazine.com/subscribe/
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
You’re v welcome!
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Music critic pivot - went longer on Finnissy miller Schumann - you can listen along thanks to the NYT multimedia team - forces me to listen harder which is never a bad thing :) www.nytimes.com/2026/08/12/a...
nytimes.com
Joseph Havlat Stacks Up Variations on ‘Sinner, Don’t Let This Harvest Pass’ (Gift Article)
Joseph Havlat’s thoughtfully programmed “Sinner, Don’t Let This Harvest Pass” spirals out from Schumann’s enigmatic “Ghost Variations.”
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jj skolnik @supremenothing.myatproto.social · 11/08/2026
what if i do not want to be optimized. what if i want to make mistakes because that’s how you learn; what if i want to do nothing sometimes, what if i want a world that is weird and challenging and has mysteries left to reveal. what if i like taking the long way
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
whooooo thought this was a good thing to put in a magazine
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