Creation of the Munich Biennale

"The whole story began about five years ago after a meeting (...) with the head of the cultural department, Mr Kolbe (...), to see if I might be interested in thinking about organising some kind of municipal music festival in Munich.

After a while I suggested setting up something that had been lacking up to then, something that didn't exist anywhere else in the world and yet was an urgent cultural necessity: that is, a place where composers of the younger generation interested in theatre could realise their ideas of music and theatre, music and action, music and literature, word and instrumental sound, a multitude of highly topical themes." (Hans Werner Henze in: Neues Musik Theater. Almanach zur 1. Münchener Biennale, Munich, Hanser 1988, p. 7).

The new operas and dance theatre pieces were supplemented by a concert by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and, in the following years, another with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra as part of the Musica Viva series, a concert by the Munich Symphony Orchestra, lecture concerts in preparation for the Biennale and collaborations with Munich music institutions.

Under Henze's artistic direction, puppet music theatre as a genre, a focus on Munich composers and a connection to popular music were established.
Great importance was attached to co-productions with repertoire companies so that the new works could be given a series of performances at the co-producing theatres afterwards.

Hans Werner Henze saw the festival as a launch pad for young talents writing a piece of music theatre for the first time, and he selected from hundreds of young composers those in whose scores he found theatrical qualities.

At the same time, it was important to him to create curiosity and open ears for the newly created works and to make the art of composing accessible, achieving this in the long term with lecture concerts and composition workshops, among other things.
Of the 42 commissions for music theatre works Henze issued as artistic director of the Biennale up to 1996, 12 were awarded to women - unique in music history up to that point. The composers came from 18 different countries.

On a walk with the then Mayor of the City of Munich, Georg Kronawitter, Henze discovered the Muffathalle located next to the Müllersche Volksbad on the Isar, at that time still used as a tennis hall for city councillors. At his suggestion, it was converted into a multifunctional theatre hall and inaugurated on 7 May 1992 on the occasion of the 3rd Biennale.