Die Soldaten
Kontarsky is well regarded as a specialist in new music. Amongst other things, he conducted the world premieres of "El Rey de Harlem" by Hans Werner Henze (1982), "Die Erschöpfung der Welt" by Mauricio Kagel (1980), "Don Quijote de la Mancha" by Hans Zender (1993), "Sansibar" by Eckehard Mayer (13 April 1994), as well as the first German performance of the opera "Die Wände" by Adriana Hölszky, at the Frankfurt Opera, on 30 January 2000. In 1988 he directed a well-regarded production in Stuttgart of the opera "Die Soldaten" by Bernd Alois Zimmermann, a work he was previously involved with as co-repetiteur for the world premiere in 1965. This led to the second commercial recording of the work, released on CD in 1991. He also conducted the French premiere of "Die Soldaten" in April 1994 at the Opéra-Bastille. He is also the conductor on the first CD recording of Luigi Nono's opera "Intolleranza 1960".