Max Richter (b 1966)

Donald Macleod chats to Max Richter, one of the world’s most in-demand composers

German-born British musician Max Richter is one of the most influential composers of his generation. A streaming sensation with over a billion listens, he blends classical and electronic elements in his music and is just as at home on 6Music as on Radio 3. He’s a producer, pianist and serial collaborator whose trailblazing work ranges from ballets and orchestral works to major Hollywood scores and solo albums. At his studio in rural Oxfordshire, Donald sits down with Max to talk about his musical life, from making synthesisers in his bedroom, to Grammy nominations, writing the world’s longest lullaby and tackling some of society’s biggest questions through the medium of music. Across the week, we dig into Max’s eclectic back catalogue, and journey through one of his most popular works, his reinterpretation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Music Featured:

Spring 1 (Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi, The Four Seasons) Last Days Sketchbook Andras Spring (Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi, The Four Seasons) Gongstream (excerpt) The Blue Notebooks On the Nature of Daylight Summer (Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi, The Four Seasons) Flowers for Yulia ; Autumn Music 2 Selection from 24 Postcards in Full Colour Waltz with Bashir (excerpts) Infra (excerpts) Three Worlds: Woolf Works (III. Orlando - excerpts) Sleep (excerpt) Dream 3 (in the midst of my life) Path 5 (delta) Voices : All Human Beings ; Origins Winter (Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi, The Four Seasons) Mercy

Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Amelia Parker, for BBC Audio Cardiff For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Max Richter (b. 1966) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001ghdw And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z