HANS WERNER HENZE - Schott Music

cept of music theatre: he named Mozart and Verdi
at the head of the list of its representatives and role
models in 1966, the year of the world premiere of The
Bassarids, and defined its distinctive character as being
“that the actions on stage have their origins in the
music and it is the music which provides gravity and
expression […]. All internal emotions, atmospheres
and situations – right down to the physical movements
themselves – are anticipated by the orchestra and the
music ‘is aware’ of the visual-scenic facet because the
scene is intrinsically a visual transformation of the music.”
Henze is distinguished as “homme de
lettres” through his wide
range of renowned
librettists and
literary adaptations
for his
stage works
alone. Alongside
his great
literary affinity,
his political
commitment
stands on an equal
footing as manifested
by a series of stage
works with clear political
themes
and texts by
Gastón
Salvatore,
Hans Magnus Enzensberger and Edward Bond from
1968 onwards. His idea for Pollicino originates from
his cultural-political activities, for example the festival
“Cantiere Internazionale d’arte” in Montepulciano
which he established in 1976. In addition to this scenic
fairy tale for children, he has in 2010 returned to music
theatre for and with young persons in Gisela oder:
Die merk- und denkwürdigen Wege des Glücks, his current
project for the stage in collaboration with Michael
Kerstan.
Henze is a composer who is completely undogmatic in
his utilisation of both the twelve-tone scale and tonal
melodies. Peter Petersen once coined the extremely
apt pair of definitions “free dodecaphony – latent diatonics”
to describe the environmental frontiers of his
music in which both twelve-tone scales and diatonic
melodies find their place. His free utilisation of harmony
still permits the use of thirds, even within
complex twelve-note structures. His range of
speaking, singing, dancing and pantomiming
dramatic figures all have a common factor:
they are all in effect reflected, characterised
and commented on by the orchestra
with the aid of specific instruments
and leitmotivs. In his more recent
and current new works for the
stage, Henze has evolved his
own definitive personal style
which is both dramatically
effective and attractive for
audiences.
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