N. N. Karetnikov is one of the most prominent figures of the post-war avant-garde and, at the same time, a unique continuer of the tradition of Orthodox spiritual music. His compositions were performed very rarely, and he was primarily known as a film and theater composer.

Among his most famous films and plays are "A Nasty Story" (1965) and "The Flight" (1970) by A. Alov and V. Naumov; "Farewell, Zamoskvoretskaya Hooligans..." by A. Pankratov (1987); "Ten Days That Shook the World" (1965, Taganka Theatre) by Y. Lyubimov; and "Tevye the Dairyman" (1985, Central Television) by S. Evlakhivshvili.

The collection includes numerous photographs from the composer's archive. Foreword by Olga Sedakova.