History[edit]

Hans Werner Henze's artistic directorship (1988–1996)[edit]

Henze, himself a prolific composer of operas, described the genesis of the festival like this:

Significance[edit]

The Munich Biennale has provided first or early commissions for stage works from many composers now established as opera composers, such as Mark-Anthony Turnage, Detlev Glanert, Gerd Kühr, Hans-Jürgen von Bose, Param Vir, Toshio Hosokawa and Violeta Dinescu.


The strongly international scope of the festival has meant that it has been able to offer opportunities missing at a national level.[15]

Festival website Retrieved 13 March 2012

münchener biennale

Salzman, Eric; Desi, Thomas (2008). . Oxford University Press USA. ISBN 978-0-19-509936-2.

The New Music Theater: Seeing the Voice, Hearing the Body

Notes


Sources

Peter & Alexa Woolf: musicweb-international.com 2000

Munich Biennale 2000 (Contemporary Music Festival) 4–19 May 2000 (PGW & AW)

John Warnaby: musicweb-international.com 20 May 2006

Tenth Münchener Biennale

Münchener Merkur 23 April 2010 (in German)

Komponieren für die reine Natur

Bayerischer Rundfunk 14 May 2010 (in German)

Münchener Biennale / Urwald-Symphonie und surrealer Seelentrip

Gerhard Rohde: FAZ 12 May 2010 (in German)

Münchener Biennale / Wozu der ganze Aufwand?