Vom instrumentalen zum imaginären Theater:

What an incredible evolution lies between works such as *Match*, *Staatstheater*, *Zwei-Mann-Orchester*, and *Broken Chords*, *Das Konzert*, or the *V. String Quartet*. Yet even though Mauricio Kagel now employs more traditional ensembles such as the piano trio, string quartet, or symphony orchestra, the question arises again and again: What lies behind the sounds? With keywords such as “musical characters” or “imaginary theater,” Kagel himself has provided clues. The papers gathered here from the “1st International Kagel Symposium” at the University of Siegen demonstrate that this opens up a perspective that is as novel as it is immensely fruitful, not only for his later compositions but also for his early work. Despite the diversity of sounds, images, and words, Kagel’s oeuvre springs, in a surprising way, from a unity of opposites. The presentations are supplemented by the texts and the composition *Quasi niente, für geschlossene Münder* (*Quasi niente, for closed mouths*), which were created on the occasion of Kagel’s honorary doctorate in Siegen. A DVD features excerpts from this Kagel Symposium.