James Taylor

'There is a God! And he's a gag-writer!'

[James Taylor @grafwagner79]

Bruckner's 9th symphony from Herbert Blomstedt and the Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks.
Performance and rehearsal extracts.
https://t.co/Fl7xqUfa30

[James Taylor @grafwagner79]

@TomConnor97 Although actually he did record a Schubert cycle with the Staatskapelle Dresden which is very good as well!

[James Taylor @grafwagner79]

RIP Herbert Blomstedt
Genuinely gutted, haven't felt this sad since Haitink passed. A great legacy on record and in live performance. His recordings from Dresden are particular favourites. I'll be playing some of his Bruckner tonight.

[James Taylor @grafwagner79]

@TomConnor97 For Beethoven and Bruckner yes.
The Schubert is from the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.

[Berliner Philharmoniker @BerlinPhil]

Wir trauern um Herbert Blomstedt, der am 4. November im Alter von 99 Jahren verstorben ist. Zuletzt dirigierte er die Berliner Philharmoniker im April dieses Jahres in drei unvergesslichen Konzerten mit Bruckners Siebter Symphonie. Ein Nachruf folgt.

📷 Stephan Rabold

[James Taylor @grafwagner79]

@TomConnor97 The Beethoven symphonies from Dresden are all marvellous, also his recent Schubert 8 and 9th, and his Bruckner 4th from Dresden. (Latter is a bit difficult to find though).

[Opera with Opera News @operamagazine]

Sad news of the death today of the much-loved conductor Herbert Blomstedt, in Gothenburg at the age of 99.

[Gewandhausorchester @Gewandhaus]

In tiefer Trauer nehmen wir Abschied von Herbert Blomstedt. Unser ehemaliger Gewandhauskapellmeister & Ehrendirigent ist heute, am 04.11.2026, im Alter von 99 Jahren in Göteborg verstorben. Wir verneigen uns in tiefer Dankbarkeit vor seinem Lebenswerk. Sie werden uns fehlen.

[Masterpieces of Japan @JapanTraCul]

Poem by Minamoto no Shigeyuki, from One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1840-1842

[James Taylor @grafwagner79]

Latest purchase - festival concert celebrating the 750th birthday of Berlin in 1987, from East Berlin. Wagner, Mozart, Weber, Handel and Beethoven excerpts, all rather good and as I can't find this anywhere online might digitise it and put it on the YouTube channel.

[Londonist @Londonist]

This year's St Pancras Christmas tree has been unveiled - a collab with the German National Tourist Office and Hilton, celebrating German festive traditions.

The 11-metre tree includes 24 layered wooden ‘curiosity windows’, 1564 fairy lights, and three rotating tiers, showcasing landmarks from across Germany's 16 regions ✨ 🎄

How do you rate it compared to previous St Pancras Christmas trees?

[Michael Warburton @For_Film_Fans]

LAUREL AND HARDY

“HELPMATES” (1932)

Genius.

[James Taylor @grafwagner79]

Now playing. One of my top Bruckner 3rds.
(The only way it could be better is if the CD came with a free knitting pattern so we can recreate Sinopoli's 1980s geography teacher look on the cover as we listen 😎)
#EpicJumpers

[James Taylor @grafwagner79]

@GjaMacphee Oh so many great places...the old HMV, Virgin Megastore, Tower etc... happy days 😁

[James Taylor @grafwagner79]

Newly pedestrianised Oxford Street 😎 I can actually walk fairly fast and overtake confused tourists easier now. Also a visit to HMV which is soon to close (again). Even though my flat has a larger classical section than they do, it was nice to browse.

[James Taylor @grafwagner79]

@DrDavidVernon I'll get the Danel Quartet edition for that cover alone!

[Dr David Vernon @DrDavidVernon]

Claudius, Macbeth, Malvolio, Prospero — he was simply magnificent in them all. Oh, Patrick, you magnificent man, rest now in eternity with the Bard.

[Michael Warburton @For_Film_Fans]

RIP ELKE SOMMER (1940-2026)

A SHOT IN THE DARK (1964)

[Dr David Vernon @DrDavidVernon]

Well, there we are: finished writing my Shostakovich quartets book this lunchtime. An exhausting but wonderful journey. Will be out next autumn. I need a shot of vodka!

[James Taylor @grafwagner79]

Now on a Stephen Kovacevich binge! These are absolutely glorious (as if you needed me to tell you!)