It received its première in 1955 at the 29th Festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music in Baden-Baden . Boulez's work was chosen to represent France at this festival. The French members of the committee were against this, but Heinrich Strobel, then director of the Baden-Baden Südwestfunk Orchestra, which was scheduled to give all of the concerts at the festival, threatened to withdraw the orchestra if the work was not accepted . The first performance was given on 18 June 1955 conducted by Hans Rosbaud, with Sybilla Plate as the solo singer .