60 Years since the greatest title sequence and signature tune ever. Happy Birthday #Thunderbirds www.youtube.com/watch?v=huPB...

Watched "The Departed" (2006) for a second time. This really is a cracking film and what a cast - Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin. I'm also keen to see the Hong Kongese original version.

Flicking through the channels on Freeview this evening, I've spotted Man About the House, The Six Million Dollar Man, The New Avengers, and Rising Damp. Welcome to the mid 1970s!

French composer Florent Schmitt was born on this day in 1870. The post-Wagnerian sumptuousness of his music is difficult to resist, especially in this marvellous recording of Antoine et Cléopâtre conducted by JoAnn Falletta.

Composer Xiaogang Ye was born in Shanghai on this day in 1955. If you don't know Ye's music, this album on BIS makes for an excellent introduction.

New to my music collection: Boult's (not quite complete) mono recordings for HMV, Pye Nixa and Parlophone on 36 CDs 😊

This afternoon's listening: Künneke's Dance Suite for Jazzband and Large Orchestra conducted by Ernst Theis. A composer and work new to me, and what a vibrant and enjoyable piece it is.

This evening's listening: Pettersson's intense and dramatic Symphony 6 recorded by Christian Lindberg. Allan Pettersson born on this day in 1911.

Came to have a gawk and a squawk.

My 5 star review of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk is online at @bachtrack.com should you care to read it. bachtrack.com/review-opera...

Watched the BBC's production of "1984" on iPlayer, starring Peter Cushing, Yvonne Mitchell, Donald Pleasence and André Morell. Very well done, all the more so for mostly being performed live. The 1954 imagery is occasionally murky but also often very striking - photos made from my TV screen.

Just tried this myself and got the following result. It's good to see they fixed it! 😝

My seat turned out to be right on top of the action for Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth at the Proms tonight. An outstanding performance from Amanda Majeski as Katerina and everyone else on blazing form too made it quite the evening. Got to meet @deeplyclassical.bsky.social too!

At the BBC Proms for Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. First time seeing it live. 😊

The Gramophone Awards 2025 shortlist has just been revealed. If you're not a regular reader of the magazine, the original reviews of all 66 recordings can be found in this free digital magazine: email.gramophone.co.uk/c/14Te1ANRMv...

Another Bruckner 8 for the collection, plus 26 other CDs conducted by Antonio Pappano and the Santa Cecilia Orchestra. 😊

The Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle to Carlisle line, opened for service 150 years ago this month.

Guardians of the road. Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Bolton Castle, which is naturally nowhere Bolton Abbey or indeed Bolton.

Swaledale, the most northerly of the major Yorkshire Dales.

In Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Sir Mark Elder, the four soloists, two choirs and BBC Symphony Orchestra after performing Delius's A Mass of Life at the Proms this evening. A beautifully prepared performance, rich in poetry, atmosphere and rapture.

At the Royal Albert Hall for a bit of Delius. My first time seeing A Mass of Life in concert, and the first performance at the Proms since 1988, when it was conducted by Charles Groves.

I didn't think my 6 year old car was something that would particularly interest thieves, but it didn't stop it from being stolen last night. Nor did the modern electronics that was supposed to protect it. Turns out that cars are just as easy to steal now as they were when thieves used coat hangers.

#NowSpinning Delius’s Appalachia in a recording I have not yet heard. The opening is beautifully delicate. Such a lovely work, full of space and magic.

Now listening to Gál's Symphony 3 conducted by Kenneth Woods. Lots of beautiful writing for oboe here. Hans Gál born in Lower Austria on this day in 1890.

Watched "Letter from an Unknown Woman" (1948), currently showing on iPlayer. Although filmed entirely in Hollywood, the evocation of old Vienna is beautifully done. I particularly liked the moment where young Lisa, played by Joan Fontaine, inspects the photographs of Brahms and Mahler on the wall.

I can be up & down about his films but I always love hearing Danny Boyle talking about films & filmmakers. His enthusiasm & sincerity are delightful. The story about his fad is great. youtu.be/Ud1T9R6vy2s?...

One in, out out: some duplicated recordings dropped off at the Oxfam Music and Audio shop in Ealing.

Another box for the collection: Ansermet's mono recordings for Decca on 26 CDs, originally made between 1929 and 1955.

Mahler 9

After a day of lengthy meetings, I looked at my watch and thought "Fučík, that'll cheer me up."

Heading home on the Central line in rush hour. Is it something I said?

Goodness me. Just turned on BBC4 and found they're showing The War Game and Threads - probably the two grimmest programmes ever made - on the same night.

#NowSpinning Richard Hickox’s account of Vaughan Williams’s small but impactful opera, Riders to the Sea. It’s a dark work and not one to be taken lightly.

Watched Hitchcock's "Foreign Correspondent" (1940), a film I assumed I'd seen before but hadn't. Recommendable for its topical and witty script, remarkable set pieces, great cast of British, American and German character actors, and stunning cinematography by Rudolf Maté.

Now listening to Dohnányi's superb Symphonic Minutes conducted by JoAnn Falletta. Ernst von Dohnányi born in Poszony (now Bratislava) on this day in 1877.

Comparing recordings of Vaughan Williams's Symphony 3 conducted by Thomson, Handley, Bakels and Hickox. Difficult to choose among these excellent performances of this superb symphony.

Adolphe Adam was born in Paris on this day in 1803. I've never got round to listening to his music before, so it's time to try the the Karajan and Tilson Thomas recordings of Giselle that landed in my collection recently.

Now listening to Berwald's Symphony 4 recorded by Herbert Blomstedt. Franz Berwald born in Stockholm on this day in 1796.

#NowSpinning Vaughan Williams’s Oboe Concerto, with Celia Nicklin, Neville Marriner and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. This stunning work is an absolute dream for any lover of English Pastoral music, though there are moments of shadow and uncertainty, too.

Some thoughts on the Proms, the music and the rest.

Very much enjoyed reviewing this new release for Gramophone. Bloch's wonderful Suite for Viola and Orchestra works very well in the transcription for cello heard here, and the performances by Parry Karp and Kenneth Woods are superb. Great to see the recording picked as an Editor's Choice.

This afternoon's listening: Shostakovich's Violin Concerto 1 recorded by Leonid Kogan and Kirill Kondrashin. A blisteringly intense performance, even finer than my long time favourite by Mordkovitch and Järvi.

A bit of excitement here as the police have, with considerable effort, just smashed open the front door of a neighbour's flat. Unfortunately, it turned out they had the wrong address. 😳

Sir Roger Norrington: pioneer, enthusiast, provocateur. I saw him conduct so many times, mostly with the OAE, always with a twinkle (and often with "jazz hands"!). His Beethoven cycle with his London Classical Players opened my ears to period instruments. RIP © Manfred Esser

Late night listening: Debussy's Pour le Piano. Recordings by Steven Osborne and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet on the player tonight.

Mahler

It is shocking in itself. It is also shocking that the @labourgoverment.bsky.social will be made to carry the can for the previous @conservatives.bsky.social government’s utter foul up, and shameful treatment of vulnerable Afghans.