Commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation, Waves of Talya was written in Rome in 1988 while the composer was there with a Rome Prize Fellowship. The work was named one of the best chamber works of the 20th century by a living American composer in the June 2000 issue of Chamber Music Magazine. Talya is the ancient name of Antalya, the Mediterranean cost city of Turkey, where majestic mountains meet the dazzling, worm cost. The composer visited there on many occasions as a child, and was always in awe of the big waves that irresistibly crashed the pebbly shores.
