Henze’s last dream is dashed

Henze’s last dream is dashed

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norman lebrecht

September 21, 2019

The great German composer had left plans for his villa outside Rome to be preserved as a refuge for young composers.

Hans-Werner Henze died seven years ago. Now problems with the estate have resulted in the almost inevitable sale of the villa.

 

Unless the German government steps in.

Report here.

 

Comments

  • Esther Cavett says:

    Surely if he’d got lawyered-up in his final days, HWH could have prevented this ?

  • Esther Cavett says:

    According to a Daily Telegraph interview

    “He never went back [to Germany]. After a spell in Ischia (where William Walton took him under his wing) and Naples, Henze scraped together the money to buy a plot of land and build the house we’re now sitting in.

  • RW2013 says:

    If those walls could talk…

  • Sue Sonata Form says:

    “Problems with the estate” could involve any number of things from family disputes to outstanding debts (unpaid taxes etc.) and/or other litigation. These things can take years and years to unravel, very sadly.

    It’s dreadful when a Will and Testament cannot be executed according to the wishes of the deceased.

    • double-sharp says:

      It’s why nations formed together as the European Union – so that simple procedures such as buying property for one’s own use could be accompished without confusion or punitive fees. Not that you’d agree with that, of course!

  • Few composers were more active in promoting the younger generation than Henze.

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