Reiselieder mit böhmischen Quinten

In his autobiography, Hans Werner Henze remembers the circumstances of the cancelled premiere of his oratorio Das Floß der Medusa on 9 December 1968 in Hamburg.

After the assassination attempt on Rudi Dutschke and his expulsion from Switzerland, Dutschke recovers at La Leprara, 1968. Excerpt from the autobiography "Reiselieder mit böhmischen Quinten: Autobiographische Mitteilungen 1926–1995"

The premiere of Nachtstücke und Arien (Nocturnes and Arias) at the Donaueschingen Music Festival in 1957 led to a veritable scandal, after which Hans Werner Henze's music has not been performed there ever since.
Excerpt from the autobiography "Reiselieder mit böhmischen Quinten: Autobiographische Mitteilungen 1926–1995"

In 1954, the composer experienced his first scandal at the Roman premiere of Boulevard Solitude. The claqueurs had been paid by someone else. And Igor Stravinsky, the greatest living composer at the time, was denied entry to the opera house, the Teatro Costanzi. Here is the excerpt from Henze's autobiography: