Is Yuri Simonov, who turns 80 today, a live-action Warner Brothers cartoon? The only thing missing is the celluloid dickey rolling up like a blind. It only gets more preposterous as it goes on. You’re welcome to watch the whole thing, but on the assumption you’ve got places to go and things to do, I’m cueing it up to around the 12:30 mark.

BONUS: Simonov conducts Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture.”

If you can look past the histrionics, Simonov is actually a very fine conductor, who deserves to be much better known in the West. He just gets a little carried away, that’s all. Evidently he must be a trip to see in concert, but he takes his rehearsals very seriously. Here he is preparing Wagner, so that in concert he can let “The Flying Dutchman” really fly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvOrTQaLQjk

You can’t argue with success. Simonov conducts Tchaik 4 in Budapest:

Happy birthday, Maestro!