With Plastový hrad, Elliott Sharp presents three diverse compositions, dynamic and sonically bracing, that reveal a few common elements. On the most immediate level it is clear that the bass clarinet serves a primary role in each, whether featured as a solo instrument with the orchestra in Plastový hrad, providing commentary and amplification in Turing Test, or functioning as the orchestra itself in Oumuamua.

Though very different in feel and affect, all three make use of compositional strategies unique to Sharp’s work. The piece Plastový hrad is a work for chamber orchestra that is dramatic, dark, and labyrinthine. Turing Test is a mini-opera, a black comedy about entities in search of themselves. Finally, Oumuamua is a solo exploration of electroacoustic processing of the bass clarinet.