It took some time for contemporary music to find its way into the programme schedule of Österreich 1. Back then Lothar Knessl was producing his first broadcasts: On Sunday, October 15 1967 at 23.10, for example, he reported on experimental music at the Warsaw music festival. Exactly one year later, ORF founded musikprotokoll in Graz as Austria’s first contemporary music festival. Of course, Lothar Knessl was involved. And at eighty-nine he continues to be involved, presenting programmes, travelling to festivals, awaiting premieres, keeping an expert, critical and loving eye on current music scenes. As one of Albert Hosp’s guests at the Ö1 Klassiktreffpunkt, which will be broadcast live from Graz, Lothar Knessl talks about his life on the pulse of contemporary music and his many decades of experience.