NIELS MARTHINSEN knows how to grab the listner's attention - and hold it. His official debut as a composer in 1993 was quite sensational. “A blood transfusion for Danish musical life” was the headline in one of the leading Danish newspapers.

Marthinsen was born in 1963 in Denmark. He studied composition at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Aarhus from 1982 to 1992. Among his teachers are Per Nørgård and Poul Ruders

An amazingly long string of works have come from Marthinsen’s pen. His work list includes five operas, a Monster Symphony, solo concertos, and a very large number of instrumental works, especially for sinfonietta or chamber ensemble.

Central characteristics in the modern versions of the Batman myth are that Batman is driven by revenge and hate, that he is created by the fantastic villains he fights, and that they are created by him. Batman represents 'the dark side' while the villains are hyper-imaginative, colourful, creative characters who just happens to be completely insane.

The rivalry between soloist and orchestra in the concerto is anything but friendly: The soloist represents a villain and the orchestra 'is' the batman. Eventually the villain is overwhelmed by the sheer power of the orchestra and sent to the lunatic asylum where he belongs.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE BAT also exist in two versions for solo trombone and orchestra: virtuoso and student.