At One With Sound: The Legacy of Hans Otte

December 2026 marks the centenary of German composer and pianist Hans Otte (1926–2007) - a visionary whose music and career in broadcasting opened doors for generations of listeners.

Presented by pianist and composer Dr Xenia Pestova Bennett, an internationally acclaimed performer and researcher specialising in experimental and contemporary repertoire. Xenia has performed Otte's music, worked with several of his collaborators, and brings rare technical, historical and emotional insight to his piano writing. Her premiere recordings of his unpublished miniatures run throughout the programme. She aims to answer the question of why Otte’s work isn’t better known.

The feature examines Otte's legacy, from his iconic Book of Sounds (1979–82) - a meditative cycle influenced by Zen, minimalism and improvisation - to his pioneering role at Radio Bremen. As head of the station's music department, Otte transformed Radio Bremen into a leading European hub for contemporary and avant-garde music, and in 1961 he founded the influential festival Pro Musica Nova, which introduced experimental American voices including John Cage, Terry Riley, La Monte Young and Steve Reich to European audiences long before the European mainstream embraced them.

Through rare archival interviews and first-hand testimony from friends, collaborators and biographers - including Otte's daughter and acclaimed photographer Silvia - the feature reveals the human being behind the music: his humour, his trauma, his "great OK-ness" and his quiet refusal to play the game.

American minimalists Terry Riley and Charlemagne Palestine recall their friendship with Otte and the influence of the Pro Musica Nova festivals on their own careers, while Margaret Leng Tan, the "Queen of the Toy Piano" and a leading John Cage specialist, makes the case for why Otte's music deserves a far wider hearing and for the importance of silence in his work. Also with contributions from Otte's assistant and biographer Ingo Ahmels, pianist Claudia Birkholz and archivist Volker Straebel.

Xenia delves into Otte's archive, held at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, where she finds letters and notebooks full of ideas and Zen-inspired aphorisms - as well as a hand-written recipe for granola from John Cage.

Presented by Dr Xenia Pestova Bennett
Produced by Julian Mayers
Executive Producer Rami Tzabar
Voiceovers by Nick Romero and Ellie Dobing
A Yada-Yada Production for BBC Radio 3