Some of the characters in The Magic Flute would have plenty of reasons to complain to the audience if they were ever asked: Who would have felt sorry for the suffering serpent? What can there be said about the traumas suffered by the Queen of the Night stripped of her daughter? Eight important composers of our times have devoted works in jest and seriously to musical and plot-based questions suggested by The Magic Flute. Dieter Schnebel, Rolf Riehm, Walter Zimmermann, and fellow composers were commissioned by the Mannheimer Nationaltheater to compose works for which the time was not yet ripe 50 years ago—five decades ago, Pierre Boulez responded to the same request by writing: “Hm-hm-hm...” This new Genuin album features eight witty, suspenseful, sad or moving, most certainly highly personal statements on the subject of Mozart. This is an important and intellectually refreshing contribution to the Mozart anniversary.