Symphony in one Movement

Written during the post-war period, the Symphony in one Movement swings in a “broad sweep from an apocalyptic threat to mystic immersion” (Zimmermann). This work is the first illustration of Zimmermann’s so characteristic fundamental concept for his later compositions in which the entire piece from the smallest details to (in this case) complete single movement was developed from a single musical “germ cell”. The twelve-note row underpinning this work still retains a thematic function in the manner of Arnold Schoenberg or Alban Berg. Even though Zimmermann turned away from thematic connection to a more neutral planning of material in his subsequent leanings towards serial structural principles, the ground-breaking intensity of expression in this Symphony in one Movement is an essential feature to which Zimmermann remained loyal in all subsequent creative periods.