The Austrian composer Gottfried von Einem played a major role in rebuilding his country’s music scene after 1945, following the devastating cultural policies of Austrofascism that were particularly hostile to modern trends. Der Prozess (The Trial) is his second opera; the libretto is based on the novel by Franz Kafka. Von Einem's music is frequently characterised by catchy thematic and melodic ideas, sharply accentuated rhythms, dance-like vigour and a marked variety of timbre, qualities that are all present in Der Prozess. The opera’s first performance was given at the Salzburg Festival in 1953. This audio recording, from the 2018 Salzburg Festival, is conducted by HK Gruber, himself a composer and former student of von Einem.