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In this week's podcast Nicola Christie meets the Proms director Roger Wright, take Times nature writer Derwent May to Beethoven's Pastroral Symphony, and speaks to a Proms steward to discover how to be a good Prommer.

Halfway through the season, Roger Wright talks about the Mahler's Fifth Symphony, which has "put down a marker for some of the things that the Proms can do uniquely and also some of the things that have galvanised a certain amount of attention, which is the notion of recreation." The Gurzenich Orchestra recreate the symphony's debut performance tonight.

Next Nature Notes very own Derwent May talks about the Pastoral Symphony, "which feels a bit like a spring morning. It has the sensation of a nice beginning. The timbre of the music has a great similarity to the timbre of a song thrush."

Later chief cultural writer Richard Morrison talks about life as a critic and Prommers tell us what they'd like to hear at the Proms next year. Finally, you can hear Louis Sebastian Mander's interpretation of J.S. Bach, in the latest Promcast composition.

You can listen either way. Sign-up in iTunes and you will receive every episode direct to your computer as we release them. Alternatively visit timesonline.co.uk/proms every Friday to listen to the latest podcast as an MP3.

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