Michael Kerstan, September 2013
"I would like", Henze wrote in Spring 2007, "my music to make the same effect in the future (i.e. after my demise) as it does today, and that it, furthermore, may speak to an audience familiar with the actual cultural and social concerns. Thus it should be taken care of a kind of continuity which keeps alive our European idea of civilization and more, may be developped in the awareness of humans who appreciate the arts and love the music."
This legacy leeds to two fields of activity to which the Hans Werner Henze-Foundation dedicates its work. One is the "promotion of arts, culture and music" and particularly the conservation, protection and distribution of the muscial and literary work of Hans Werner Henze. Scientific research about the composer's work and its impacts is an important part of these duties. The other task Maestro Henze assigned to his foundation is to sponsor young musicians, especially composers. Thus, the foundation may participate in concerts and festivals with contemporary music, create own musical performing formats and participate in scientific events dealing with Henze's oeuvre. Furthermore the foundation has the possibility to grant scholarships to young, promising composers.
Lawyer (Hans Werner Henze's lawyer since 1963); he was director and general manager of the GEMA (composer's association for royalties), legal advisor of the VG Wort (writer's association for royalties), furthermore he was on the board of trustees of the Ernst von Siemens-foundation, on the foundation board of the Richard Wagner-Foundation (Bayreuth) and on the director's board of the Richard Strauss-Association. Kreile was member of the Bundestag (German parliament) for the CSU, holds a chair at the Munich University for Television and Film and was president of the international unions of collecting societies CISAC and BIEM, Paris and co-founder and editor of the monthly magazine "Zeitschrift für Urheber- und Medienrecht" (Journal for copy and media rights).
After studying law and theatre sciences Kreile became general manager of the collecting society of the film- and tv-producers, and he is lawyer with an expertise on media and author's rights. He is on the board of administrators of the Bavarian center for new media, head of the commitee of the guidelines of the FFA (institute for promotion and sponsorship for film in Berlin) and head of the advisory board of the MBA Media Business Academy. Furthermore he is visiting professor art the Munich Unversity for Television and Movie, at the University of Mayence and the Baywrische Akademie für Fernsehen. Numerous publications, among them participation in the Handbuch "Recht internet" (compendium "law on internet").
Director, artistic advisor
Kerstan was Hans Werner's assistant for several years. He holds a doctor's degree in cultural ciences and has been artistic director of the Jugendmusikfest Deutsch-landsberg (Austria), the Junge Kultur in Hallein and the KulturRegion Stuttgart; as stage director he did the Italian premiere of Henze's "Phaedra" at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; he is member of the El Cimarrrón-Ensemble, together they realized numerous world premieres, and he published (together with Clemens Wolken), among others, a book about Hans Werner Henze (Komponist der Gegenwart, Berlin 2006).
Composer Peter Ruzicka (see, among others, his operas "Celan", Dresden 2001 and "Hölderlin", Berlin 2008) is also a highly appreciated conductor, artistic director with a PHD in law, professor at the University of Music and Theater in Hamburg, member of the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste and of the Freie Akademie der Künste, Hamburg. He was artistic director of the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the Staatsoper Hamburg and the Hamburg Philharmonic, the Münchener Biennale für Neues Musiktheater (as successor of Hans Werner Henze) and the Salzburg Festival.
President of the University Mozarteum, Salzburg, Professor for musicology and pianist; numerous awards, among them the Bavarian Prize for the Promotion of Culture (Bayerischer Kulturförderpreis, 1984), the Austrian CRoss of honor for Sciences and the Arts (Österreichisches Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst, 2009) and the German Federal Cross of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz, 2010); since 1990 full member of the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste, since 2002 Director of it's music department. As a pianist, Mauser is performing all over the world, as a scientist he has published broadly about musical analysis, aesthetics of music and history of music of the 19th and 20th century.
The conductor made his debut at the Frankfurt Opera in 1999 with Henzes „Boulevard Solitude“. From 2001 – 2008 he stayed there as pianist, coach, and assistant conductor. As a guest he conducted the orchestras at Deutsche Oper Berlin, English National Opera London, Bayerische Staatsoper München, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Lincoln Center New York, the Ensemble Modern; he appeared at Festivals in Schwetzingen (World premiere of Sciarrino's „MacBeth“) and Spoleto (staged premiere of Henze's „Gogo No Eiko“). In 2009 he was appointed Music Director of the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto.