In these twentieth-century sonatas, from the late Romantic and expressionistic Valen, through Stravinsky’s neoclassical period, to Lutoslawski’s more modernistic style, the three composers are searching for inspiration in the past – Valen in the rigours of Bach’s counterpoint, Stravinsky in antique verse forms such as we find in Virgil, and Lutoslawski in Baroque music.

These interactions with artistic models from earlier times result in three highly individual compositions, each appealing both to the heart and to the mind.