The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the conductor Klaus Tennstedt. When, at 45, he defected from East Germany, he was virtually unknown in the West. But three years later, after conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he was acclaimed as an international maestro. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his impressive musical career, his defection from East Germany and his battle against cancer of the vocal chords.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Symphony No 6 In A Minor Finale by Gustav Mahler