The original ideal for the 'Variations on Hava Nagila' occurred to me in 1998. Since I had until then only occupied myself with European musical folklore, the idea of conducting research into the folklore of the Near (and somewhat later also the Far) East initially seemed to be something completely new and exotic. This very well-known Hebraic folksong has been retained in its original form here. Each of the variations of my piece for flute and piano, arranged in the classical sequential manner, presents the flutist with a new challenge (staccato, legato, Intervallic leaps, ascending and descending runs, broken chords, etc.). Although the piano has important tasks to perform in the overall structure of the piece, the piano part serves the function of an accompaniment for the most part. (Dejan Lazic)