Hans Werner Henze (born 1926) is a German composer of unusual productivity and diversity of style. He is best known for unorthodox operas such as Boulevard Solitude (1952), with its unique treatment of the "Manon" story used by Puccini, and the comic...

Few things show up the residual island-nationness in British attitudes to modern music than the way we've hedged our bets on Hans Werner Henze. Of course we celebrate his achievements and have been happy to accept him as Important. But Important, principally, elsewhere -...

Composer Hans Werner Henze's taking offense at a purely academic question concerning his work reflects his fear of self-analysis. The inquiry forwarded merely requested illumination on how one of his musical pieces would be able to elicit empathy from listeners well aware of his...

Some years ago, Leonard Bernstein wrote that composing a symphony might have become impossible since its traditional inspiration-the idea of nobility-had all but vanished from our lives. In fact, the dissolution of this cornerstone of Western music was foretold 100 years ago in the anguished...

Ballet companies have their ups and downs, just like the rest of us. In recent years we've watched American Ballet Theatre rising, New York City Ballet falling, the Kirov and the Bolshoi struggling to regain their former glory. But no major company has had a...