Alfred Schnittke – Words Return to Music

"Schnittke (1934-98) is now established as one of Russia's most important twentieth-century composers. This programme features the first major television interview he gave in Moscow for broadcast in the West, when he and his colleagues were able to talk freely in the wake of Gorbachev's reforms. The film reflects the “unreal reality” he describes by using specially-shot black and white sequences and original performance extracts to create an impressionistic tapestry of biography, music and ideas.

Works featured include Violin Sonata No. 2, Symphony No. 1, Prayer of a Young Man, Three Scenes, Epilogue from Peer Gynt and the Faust Cantata."