Curtains drawn, cold and dark outside and I am sitting here listening to Classic FM who are broadcasting a programme all about Leonard Bernstein, of whom I was a huge fan, despite his sometimes posing and cheesiness. Underneath that was a man of genius. I mean, he wrote West Side Story. No more be said.
At the moment he is being evaluated as a conductor and pouring out of the speakers right now is the final movement of Beethoven Symphony No 9, a performance which was beamed round the world on the first Christmas Day after the Berlin Wall came down. Musicians and singers were drawn from East and West Germany and all over Europe and it was an incredibly moving occasion. I remember sitting down with husband and daughters to watch this and being moved to tears when watching and listening. It seems that it was watched by over 100 million. The power of music is staggering and never fails to amaze me.
On a more mundane note, I have taken delivery of my brand new flat screen digital TV and the picture is really stunning. As the digital box is built in, no more routing through my stand alone one with the resultant loss of many channels, now I have them all back and more and more choice. Mark you, on looking through the TV guide for the next week I am reminded of a letter I read in The Times:
'I am really delighted I have a digital TV and have all these extra channels to choose from. Now it takes me an extra ten minutes every day to realise there is nothing I want to watch'
So tonight I shall be watching Sense and Sensibility on this gorgeous screen and am looking forward to seeing how it all looks. It is almost like having one's own cinema in the front room. At the same time, because of course good programmes always clash, I shall be taping Foyle's War with Michael Kitchen on another channel, who has taken underacting to a fine art and yet somehow it works. Sadly, these three episode coming up are the last. As usual, quality TV never lasts long in the UK and they zap it off pretty quickly so I am just grateful we have had a few series of this to savour and enjoy. I shall wait till the box set is on sale at Amazon and then snap it up.
Nearly through one of my Cynthia Harrod-Eagles and as ever, great read and thoroughly enjoying it. Next one is on my beside table ready to go.
I have been looking at other blogs and noting reading plans flagged up and can only be impressed by the planning and logic behind them all. Dove Grey Reader is going round the world in 80 Books and has even got a map up so she can stick pins in it as she goes along (I want to read all about her trip to Venice), and various others have reading challenges coming out of their ears. I have decided this year NOT to make a plan, though I have joined a Russian Challenge, but just to meander along and read whatever takes my fancy and see what I end up with.
Nearly at the end of Beethoven 9 and the choir and soloists are singing gloriously. Lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
