Dieter Schnebel is considered one of the most important composers of his generation.
Initially shaped by serial thinking, in the 1960s he advanced to the status of a luminary of
European experimental music. With Maulwerke (1968-74) he created a groundbreaking work
of modern vocal music, with Körper-Sprache (1980) the equivalent for modern music theater.
He went on to elaborate his approach, which views gestures and body movements as
compositional material that can be treated the same way as sound material, in the cycles
Laut-Gesten-Laute (1981-85), Zeichen-Sprache (1986-90) and Schaustücke (1995-99), in
which he links the compositions for body with voice and sets both into contrapuntal
relationships.