Bbc

“June 2000, astronomers made an extraordinary discovery. One that promises to solve one of the biggest problems in cosmology – how and why galaxies are created. Incredibly, the answer involves the most weird, destructive and terrifying objects in the Universe – supermassive black holes. Scientists are beginning to believe that these forces of pure destruction actually help trigger the birth of galaxies and therefore are at the heart of the creation of stars, planets and all life.”

Tamsin Greig, Lesley Sharp and Ellie Kendrick star in the BBC adaptation of The Diary Of Anne Frank. The rights to The Diary Of Anne Frank rarely become available. The BBC and Darlow Smithson Productions have worked closely with the Anne Frank-Fonds, the charitable foundation promoting social and cultural projects in the spirit of Anne Frank, to ensure complete authenticity for the drama.

Leopold Stokowski’s eminence as one of the truly great conductors of the 20th century over a career spanning more than six decades is exemplified in this set, which features live performances in stereo of symphonies and other works he conducted in concert during his final years and which, in many cases, he had premiered on record as well. In one of the many outstanding reviews of these live concerts, the distinguished Times critic William Mann wrote of the 1963 ‘Proms’ premiere of Mahler’s Symphony No.2: “A performance which was superb by any standards, meticulously loyal, noble and deeply felt out of long and thoughtful experience”. The set has been newly remastered to reflect Stokowski’s instructions on how he wanted his recordings to sound.

Medieval Lives…Knights in shining armor, damsels in distress, pious monks….Nonsense. The Middle Ages were far more entertaining than that.

The Death of Yugoslavia is a BBC documentary series first broadcast in 1995, and is also the name of a book written by Allan Little and Laura Silber that accompanies the series. It covers the collapse of the former Yugoslavia. It is notable in its combination of never-before-seen archive footage interspersed with interviews of most of the main players in the conflict, including Slobodan Miloševi?, then President of Serbia. This format, pioneered by the programme’s production company, Brian Lapping Associates, was very influential and the company produced many others in similar style.

It’s the story of everything – from the first microseconds of our universe to the exciting future of first contact and homes beyond our Earth. Join Adam Hart-Davis, Janet Sumner and Maggie Aderin for a journey around the planet to discover the latest thinking about the Cosmos.

R.E.M. grew up with the BBC, and this historic relationship is lovingly celebrated across an incredible collection that beautifully illustrates the career trajectory of one of modern music’s greatest bands. The collection—available as a super-deluxe edition 8-CD/1-DVD box set, as well as 2-CD, 2-LP and digital formats—comprises a treasure trove of rare and unreleased live and studio recordings culled from the BBC and band archives. This is a must-have collection for R.E.M. fans and an authoritative introduction for newcomers.

In the early days of British rock & roll, there were dozens of contenders for stardom: Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard, and Marty Wilde were among the players who rose to the challenge for at least a few years. Billy Fury, by contrast, was the real article from day one, and never really surrendered the title. He was also the most prodigiously talented of his generation of British rock & roll singers, a songwriter of considerable ability, and a decent actor as well. He was born Ronald Wycherley in Liverpool in 1940.

The BBC Radio Big Band is a British big band run under the auspices of the BBC. It consists of professional jazz musicians and is directed by arranger and composer Barry Forgie, who has been conducting the band on a regular basis since 1977. Widely regarded as the UK’s leading and most versatile jazz orchestra, the band broadcasts on BBC Radio, particularly on BBC Radio 2's long running series Big Band Special.