The contributions to this volume go back to the symposion 'Volksmusik in der Kunstmusik des 20. Jahrhunderts' [Folk music in 20th-century art music] which took place at the Frankfurt Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in March 2003. The musical performances of this event consisted of folk-inspired works by Theodor W. Adorno, Hans Werner Henze, Flores Chaviano and Luciano Berio. The great interest in this event and its topic encouraged the editors to publish a book containing the lectures in an expanded form and complemented by further contributions. With this volume, the editors want to illustrate the virtually inexhaustible complexity of elitist and popular composition in the 20th century.