Kontraste

The starting point for Kontraste was Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s existing music for Fred Schneckenburger’s abstract puppet theatre piece Das Grün und das Gelb [Green and Yellow]. Bernd Alois Zimmermann originally intended Kontraste as a concert work before subsequently extending the composition to form a ‘plotless’ ballet in six movements. The outer movements, designated as Introduction and Epilogue, are allocated a special role: here Zimmermann stipulates an imaginary ensemble which dances a pas de couleur. The other movements (Moreska, Tempo di valse, Phantasmagorie and Tempo di marcia) are intended for dance solos, duets and trios. Zimmermann’s Kontraste demand great imagination and a high degree of abstraction, both requisites for a choreographic realisation of this extraordinary ballet. ‘At the time, I had the idea of writing a piece which would bring together absolute music, absolute movement (dance) and absolute colour, quasi composed in triple counterpoint.’ (Bernd Alois Zimmermann)