Solo by Laura Young

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.

Carlo Domeniconi was born in Cesena, Italy, in 1947 and began studying the guitar with Carmen Lenzi Mozzani at the age of 13. At the age of 17, he obtained his first diploma from the Pesaro Conservatory; his second he received from the College of Arts in Berlin. He then went on to study composition and held a lecturing post at the Berlin Hochschule der Künste (College of Arts) from 1969 to 1992. Between 1977 and 1980, he taught guitar at the Istanbul Conservatory. Owing also to his familiarity with Indian, Turkish and Arab musical forms and tonal systems, he has been able to endow his works with a highly distinctive idiom and to develop a style entirely his own.

Oliver Hunt was born in 1934. He studied guitar at the Guildhall School of Music in London with Adele Kramer in 1958 and also privately, with Julian Bream. He continued his musical studies in theory and composition at the Royal Academy of Music with Sir Lennox Berkeley and James Illiff, winning the Willian Wallace Exhibition Prize for Composition. Hunt has composed a wide variety of works, including solo pieces for guitar, piano and organ as well as choral, orchestral and chamber music. He is currently Professor of Guitar at the London College of Music.

Václav Kucera was born in Prague in 1929. He studied composition at the Moscow Conservatory under Vissarion Shebalin. Since 1972 he has taught composition at the Prague Academy ot Music and Dramatic Arts where he was appointed Professor in 1988. Kucera's output is extensive and varied; it includes stage works, symphonies, chamber works, vocal and electronic pieces. His interest in the guitar has resulted in numerous solo guitar pieces, plus ensemble works for guitar with violin and flute.

Hans Werner Henze was born in Gütersloh Germany, in 1926. He began to compose at the age of twelve, before he actually received any formal music education. Over the years he has established himself as one of the world's foremost avant-garde composers. In 1974 he composed Carillon Recitatif and Masque for harp, guitar and mandolin. Henze's interest in the guitar was further stimulated by Julian Bream’s request for a new major work for the instrument. This collaboration resulted in the First Sonata based on Shakespearean characters in Royal Winter Music, the first completed in 1976, and the second, in 1979.

Joaquin Turina was born in Sevilla in 1882 and died in Madrid in 1949. He is one of this century's outstanding Spanish musicians. He was not only a composer, but also a fine pianist and conductor. He greatly admired the guitar and wrote several pieces for the instrument, all of which he dedicated to Andrés Segovia. He was second perhaps only to Manuel de Falla in his interest and dedication to Flamenco music.

Nikita Koshkin was born in Moscow in 1956. At the age of four, two of his favourite composers were Shostakovich and Stravinsky, yet he did not start studying music or the guitar until he was fourteen. His guitar teachers include: Vladimir Kapayev, George Emanov and later, Alexander Frauchi at the Gnessin Conservatory in Moscow - he also studied composition under Victor Egorov. His musical style contains elements of post-Stravinsky Russian composers, notably Shostakovich and Prokofiev. Koshkin lives in Moscow, where he divides his time hetween composing and teaching.

Laura Young

Laura Young was born in Toronto, Canada, of Russian-Irish descent. When she was four years old, she had her first music lessons and began playing the guitar at the age of nine. After completing her music degree at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Eli Kassner, she received various grants from the Canada Council and Ontario Arts Council to pursue master classes with David Russell and Leo Brouwer, among others, and to finish her studies with Hubert Kappel at the Cologne Hochschule für Musik.

Laura has won top prizes in prestigious international competitions such as the “Andrés Segovia” competition in Palma de Mallorca, and the “Jacinto c Inocencio Guerrero” competition in Madrid, to name just a few. She has appeared as a featured soloist throughout Europe and North America, and is a member of Trio de Cologne, established in 1991. The enthusiasm and wide acclaim given her recordings, concerts, television and radio broadcasts in Europe and North America testify to her extraordinary musicianship.