Front Row - 12/05/2009

John Tavener's Requiem premiered in February 2008, although the composer himself was not present, having recently undergone emergency surgery. Tavener explains how the experience of being close to death informed his Requiem. In addition, violinist Paul Robertson discusses his participation in the premiere of Tavener's Towards Silence, a piece which explores the process of dying. Crime writer Dreda Say Mitchell reviews a new US TV drama in which Tim Roth stars as a deception expert who studies facial expressions and body language to solve criminal investigations. Recent research into ballet positions shows that dancers are accomplishing ever higher leg raises. Musician David Juritz talks to Patrick Haggard, co-author of this research, about whether physical boundaries have been similarly stretched in the world of music. The secretive Rodney Whitaker wrote under several pseudonyms in his lifetime, most famously as Trevanian. Under this pen-name he published many bestsellers, including the spy novel The Eiger Sanction, which is being re-released. His friend Christopher Somerville and academic John Sutherland discuss the man and his work.