However, it was rather intermittent, and in some years the event went to Baden-Baden, which achieved a bit more notice as a result of the participation of Hindemith, etc. In the 1930s, the Nazis tried to revive the whole thing in their own terms, but, naturally, their terms had little to do with significant new music, so it failed miserably. However, after the War, when a good deal of money was invested in West Germany's cultural revival, not least through the establishment of various radio networks, it was possible to get things going again, and the first of the modern music days took place in 1950. He also implied that an element of indulgence was involved, and that composers failed to make imaginative use of the spatial possibilities offered by the adjoining halls of the main venue. However, he failed perhaps to appreciate the determination of South-West German Radio to uphold the standards which established Donaueschingen's reputation as the centre of modernism in music, not least by avoiding commercial trends.
Modernism is alive and well in Central Europe.
It is nurtured by a steady stream of composers who show, at the very least, impressive competence in handling large scale projects involving extensive orchestral forces. Moreover, in the major event of this year's programme, Part I, entitled Zerfall , of Der Engel Der Geschichte , Vinko Globokar explored similar issues to those confronted in Standpunkte , of 1977. Standpunkte was successfully performed, but one of its texts raised political objections and the 'live' broadcast was inexplicably cancelled 'for technical reasons'. The new work encountered less controversy, but was no less powerful, and certainly no less characteristic. In fact, it has clearly gained from Globokar's previous orchestral scores - hence his ambition to create a vast trilogy, the last part of which will deal with unanswerable questions.