Hans Werner Henze

Hans Werner Henze (born in Gütersloh, Westphalia, 1 July 1926, died in Dresden, 27 October 2012) was a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life". His music is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Stravinsky, Italian music, Arabic music and jazz, as well as traditional schools of German composition. Henze was also known for his political convictions.