In his essay "On Instrumental Composition" of 1963, Hans Werner Henze states: "Everything moves towards the theater and comes back from there. (...) In the orchestral parts, it is in the immediate vicinity, although the typical of certain traditions of the symphony in the Keep an eye out. " Henzes Symphonies 3, 4, and 5 move within this very connection of the music theater and symphony. A first approach is already described in the "3. Symphony ":" I have composed this piece with the desire to separate the concept of "symphony" from the concept of classical and romantic forms, so that the listener is not allowed to look for those elements of the symphony of the 19th century Own. " Already the "4. Sinfonie "is then very closely linked to Henzes own musical composition: It was originally the finale of the second act of his opera" König Hirsch ". Also in the "5. "My own, my own" from his opera "Elegy for Young Lovers" is a "leitmotiv" that emerges in all three movements. As in the case of the fourth, the music here returns from the theater floor to the symphony.