Katharina Blum

Henze also wrote the music of the successful film Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum, co-produced by Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta from the novel by Heinrich Böll: 'Böll's novella is about a young woman whose life is ruined because of the persecution and slander of the German yellow press. The story is set in Cologne and its surroundings and casts a light on Germany in the Seventies: estrangement, destruction of the environment, triumph of the middle classes, use of force by the police. The music comments on these circumstances, rather than describing them. Everything that sounds soft and sentimental refers to Katharina and her friend who is pursued by the police and suspected of being a terrorist. Scenes of violence, traffic chaos and, right in the middle, the carnival of Cologne are subjects of the other pieces.'