Composer John Psathas came up with the music for a new double percussion concerto The All-Seeing Sky after reading Dante's Inferno.
Big emotions and big ideas are contained in the piece, which he's composed for an award-winning Swiss percussion duo, Luca Staffelbach and Fabian Ziegler.
The concerto has been co-commissioned by Orchestra Wellington, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and the Swiss City Light Symphony Orchestra.
Lynn Freeman asked John about working with musicians for the first time, and whetherf he does a deep dive into their technique before composing for them:.
Luca Staffelbach and Fabian Ziegler will perform the new concerto by John Psathas for the first time with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra in Ōtautahi on the 14th of May, and in Te Whanganui-a-Tara with Orchestra Wellington on May the 21st.
