A musician in Germany has begun a series of piano concerts in which he hangs upside down from a 10-metre-high crane for the duration of the performance. 

Pianist Alain Roche starts every morning hanging from the suspended machinery in Munich as an audience on the ground listens and watches the sun rise.

As part of a project titled When the Sun Stands Still, Mr Roche has taken to the skies since Dec 22 and will continue the performance every day until June 20, marking the 6-month period from winter to summer solstice.

The performance art mixes music with the sounds of nature in a piece inspired by the transition between seasons and night to day. 

Over 40 microphones have been placed in three locations across Bavaria and Switzerland to live stream the sounds of nature to Mr Roche, which he uses to self-compose a new piece of music on the suspended piano each morning. 

Facing the sunrise to the east, an audience listens in using headphones. 

The crane hangs Mr Roche 10 metres above the construction site of the new concert hall in Munich, which will be completed in 2030. 

The duration and start time of the concert changes each day because it is based on Earth’s elliptical orbit around the sun. 

Mr Roche will complete a total of 182 performances over the period.