When I selected some of my favorite 20th century pieces for this recording, it struck me that I had turned to the music of composers who were inspired by styles, idioms, stories or songs of cultural traditions other than their own. Perhaps my own mixed background and "nomadic” life partly explains this. Or maybe it is simply one significant phenomenon of life in our increasingly multi-cultural global village.

Carlo Domeniconi, an Italian composer who has in many ways adopted Turkish culture, language and music as his own, draws on a well known Anatolian folksong, “Uzun ince bir yoldayim” by Asik Veys èl. In English the title reads “I am traveling down a long and narrow path” - it is a deeply philosophical song which Domeniconi refers to as a “typical Anatolian blues”.

The Englishman, Oliver Hunt, finds inspiration in India’s giant mythical bird, Garuda, from the Hindu legend of Rama and Sita. Normally the bird symbolizes hope, but in this setting the story is told from the bird’s perspective as it observes the activities of humankind below.

The composition by Czeck composer Václav Kucera, is based on the diary of the Cuban revolutionary, Che Guevara. Kucera uses a powerful, direct and dramatic narrative in exploring the last five days of Che’s life: the day of love, hate, decision, fight and finally the day of death.

The German composer Hans Werner Henze, bases his piece, “Drei Tentos”, (in spirit rather than substance) on the 16th century Iberian Ricercare form. The three Tentos are musical Interludes from his Kammermusik which was written in 1958. The third Tento uses a Neapolitan folk song by Henze and is a tribute to Italy, his adopted country, where he has lived since 1953.

The Sevillanas-Fantasia by Joaquin Turina is closely linked to the Flamenco Sevillanas dance, which originated in the Seguidillas Manchegas. It is a dance for couples, and Turina stays close to the Flamenco form, especially in the ‘falsetas’ (scales) and harmony used throughout the middle section of the piece.

Lastly, an exception to the multi-cultural selection, Koshkin’s “The Fall of Birds” has its origin in a personal, nightmarish dream about the Apocalypse where the final image is that of birds falling from the sky. The toccata encapsulates the musical material of the andante quasi passacaglia in an ever increasing climax of dramatic tension.