Five Questions with Haralabos [Harry] Stafylakis

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1. Tell us about the genesis of this work. How did it come about?

I was on the quest for my next major project after my Piano Concerto No. 1: Mythos and my album Calibrating Friction. I knew Rachel Barton Pine – besides being an incredible violinist and in-demand soloist – was an adamant meal-head.

It so happened that my friend Earl Maneein of the metal string quartet seven)suns had just written a killer violin concerto for Rachel, so this sort of classical-metal fusion was in the air. My management reached out to her to propose the idea of a metal-flavored Stafylakis concerto to premiere with the WSO, and we took it from there!

2. Until recently, your compositional output has featured less “traditional” soloists in concerto form: two guitars in To wake and find the world still burning (2022); and, the metal trio in Weighted (2019) featuring the music of Animals as Leaders.

Is there a different expectation when writing for a more commonly featured solo instrument? Is it more constrictive? Or does it come with an added pressure?

There probably are different expectations, rooted in the hallowed history of the piano, or the violin, for instance.

I don’t care one whit about any of that. I always write what I want, and believe in what I write, wholeheartedly.

3. Your immersion and involvement in the progressive metal world are, likely, well-known to Winnipeg audiences. What may come as a surprise is that the soloist premiering the work, American violinist Rachel Barton Pine, is equally at home in the genre.

The first American and youngest ever gold metal winner of the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition – and finalist at plenty of other prestigious events around the world – also happens to be a metal head.

Does this feel like the fates colliding?

Sure does! The metal community tends to be pretty tight-knit, and fans very dedicated to the music and the culture that surrounds it. When classical artists who happen to also be metalheads – like myself and Rachel – discover each other, we tend to form an instant bond and seek out ways to work together. Something interesting is bound to result from it.

4. How much involvement and input did Rachel Barton Pine have in the soloist’s part?

We’ll find out when we hear it! I wrote the music as I envisioned it. She’ll interpret it as her intuition, expression, and physicality deem appropriate. The meeting of these two forces is where the magic happens.

5. Compositionally speaking, what’s next for you, Harry?

I’ve been writing a lot of big music for the past several years. Meanwhile, I’m on a major guitar kick these days, spending as much time with my stable of extended-range instruments as I can. I’ll be going a bit small for a bit; there’s a piece for 8-string electric guitar & piano that I owe to my friend Daniel Keene for his duo in New York, and I plan to finish up some recording and post-production on my next progressive metal album.

Then I’ll get back to my Symphony No. 3.

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Russell Kunz (he/him) is the Community & Education Coordinator for the WSO.