Der Leidverweser ("The Woe-administrator") is the fourth in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters from Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere ("Earwitness: Fifty Characters"), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection of works, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters and include works for contrabass, violin, bass flute, ocarina, contrabassoon, glass harmonica, alto saxophone, trumpet, and percussion.

Der Leidverweser was composed in June of 1998 for contrabassoonist James Rodgers. The work received the 1998 El Ruiseñor Grave Prize and was first performed by Monica Fucci on 13 August 1999, for the International Double Reed Society Conference at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.