In contrast to many composerswho only began to write symphonies in their maturity, Hans Werner Henze composed his First Symphony when he was 20. Henze himself later described this original version as a ''complete failure'' - a revised version of the work was performed in Berlin in 1964: ''Rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic cells from the original version remain, and in the slow movement there are almost no changes, otherwise everything is new, different, and better.'' - Hans Werner Henze