...the scene of the crime...

The piece was written at the end of a five-year fascination of mine with Shakespeare's Hamlet although it's not being specifically linked to my Hamlet opera either thematically or motivically. However the sheer size of that subject matter, combined with the fact that the duo was premiered at Håkan Hardenberger‘s festival in Malmö - just "a stone's throw" across the Øresund Strait from "Elsinore" - made it seem fitting to suggest one last Hamlet reference before moving on to other projects. The title also reflects the somewhat "noir" aspects of the piece's quieter, more mysterious sections.
Brett Dean