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On Composer of the Week's 80th birthday, Donald Macleod looks back on two especially memorable visits to the homes of late composers, Harrison Birtwistle and Hans Werner Henze, in some of the last longform interviews they gave.

Composer of the Week is one of the longest-running strands on the ´óÏó´«Ã½, first heard on the airwaves during the Second World War on the 2nd of August 1943. The first composer to be featured was Mozart – and today, the programme tells the stories of both well-known and rediscovered composers across classical music, jazz, contemporary and beyond. Donald Macleod celebrates its 80th anniversary with highlights and behind-the-scenes stories from his encounters with some of our greatest living composers. Across the week, he looks back on ten memorable interviews from his nearly 25 years in the presenter’s chair, showcasing the range of musical styles and personalities he’s encountered.

Today, Harrison Birtwistle tells us how a lifelong fascination with moths and the plight of their extinction led him to write his Moth Requiem, and Hans Werner Henze talks about revising works from earlier in his career, and his own voiceless take on the Requiem.

Harrison Birtwistle: Virelai (sous une fontayne)
London Sinfonietta
David Atherton, conductor

Harrison Birtwistle: The Minotaur (Part Two – excerpt)
John Tomlinson, bass (the Minotaur)
Christine Rice, mezzo-soprano (Ariadne)
Johan Reuter, baritone (Theseus)
The Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Antonio Pappano, conductor

Harrison Birtwistle: The Moth Requiem
Philippa Davies, alto flute
Lucy Wakefield, Helen Tunstall, Hugh Webb, harps
´óÏó´«Ã½ Singers
Nicholas Kok, conductor

Hans Werner Henze: Chamber Concerto, Op 1 (final movement)
Matthias Perl, flute
Christopher Tainton, piano
NDR Symphony Orchestra
Peter Ruzicka, conductor

Hans Werner Henze: Serenade for piano trio (Adagio, Adagio)
Nash Ensemble

Hans Werner Henze: Scorribanda sinfónica
NDR Symphony Orchestra
Peter Ruzicka, conductor

Hans Werner Henze: Requiem (excerpt)
Ensemble Moderne
Ingo Metzmacher, conductor

Produced by Amelia Parker for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Audio Wales and West