A hundred years ago, of course, the question that the German Composers' Co-operative asked itself sounded a lot more fundamental: How do you create a fair share for those who ensure that works can actually be performed at all?

Rau had a deep and lifelong commitment to bringing reconciliation between Germany and its past. Only two months later (19 October 2004) a hematoma in the abdominal cavity was surgically removed. However Israeli President MoJohannes Rau Katsav supported and praised him for bridging the gap between the two states.

Johannes Rau (German pronunciation: [joˈhanəs ˈʁaʊ]; 16 January 1931 – 27 January 2006) was a German politician of the SPD.