Hans Werner Henze, who died in 2012 at the age of 86, was one of the most prolific German composers of the post-war era. Throughout his lengthy career, he was influenced both by older and more modern styles of music. He lived in Italy from 1953 until his death. Composed for 16 instruments, his serenade L'heure bleue (Twilight) was written at the request of the Frankfurt Alte Oper. The work's 2001 original premiere was presented by renowned English conductor and composer Oliver Knussen.

Serving among the early role models for Wolfgang Rihm, who was born in 1952 and is now considered among the best known of all modern German artists for his work as both a composer and a music writer, are such figures as Hans Werner Henze, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Luigi Nono. His work Versuchung ("Temptation”), written for cello and orchestra, found - like many other of Rihm's pieces - inspiration in a work from the fine arts, the triptych entitled The Temptation of Saint Anthony by the 20th century German painter Max Beckmann.

Manfred Trojahn, who was born in 1949, prepared as an orchestral musician, studying flute, and then later continuing his studies in composition and conducting. The stand-out pieces of his expansive oeuvre, which includes nearly every genre and format, are his symphonies, string quartets and songs written for orchestral accompaniment. He wrote his piece Contrevenir in memory of Hans Werner Henze.

Jörg Widmann, who was born in 1973, is one of the world's best known composers and clarinettists. His Dubairische Tänze ("Dances of Dubai”) is the fruit of a month-long stay in the Gulf Republic. Widmann found inspiration for the work both in his musical experiences there and from the music of his native Bavaria.

Presented by: Budapest Festival Orchestra, Palace of Arts