"There is an amazing power and at the same time a very clear intention in everything he writes," solo harpist Zachary Hatcher says about Martin Stauning's music, and the 'Concerto for Harp and Orchestra' is definitely a powerful work.
In an interview with Magasinet Klassisk, Martin Stauning explain how he imagined the soloist as trapped behind bars. “The strings are actually bars, that the harpist is caught behind. He is trapped – physically trapped. At the end of the concert, he literally pulls and tugs on the strings, but he still can’t get out even though he pulls them like a maniac.”
After attending the rehearsals for the concert, Martin Stauning said: "It is far more disturbing and "scary" than I was aware of. It is like a sound maze that the soloist tries to escape, but every time he turns a corner, instead of finding his way out he goes further and further into it."
See and hear for yourself in the concert video above.