Lep•i•dop•ter•ol•o•gy

[2003] – for flute, clarinet and piano – 9’

Premiere November 1, 2003
Palisades Virtuosi
Ridgewood, NJ

Recorded on “New American Masters, Volume 1” by the Palisades Virtuosi.

I was honored to be the first composer commissioned by the Palisades Virtuosi and to appear on their debut concert. I wrote this study of butterflies in honor of my friend Ron Levy, the group’s pianist and a butterfly enthusiast.

Reviews:

“Aaron Grad’s Lep•i•dop•ter•ol•o•gy (the study of butterflies) is al fresco indeed. It’s active yet dreamy and evanescent, using imaginative (but never “avant-garde”) timbral interweavings to portray those flitting, delicate, colorful creatures who share our everyday world yet seem somehow messengers from another, more magical place.” –American Record Review

“The marvelous, infectious manner that he weaves his arpeggiated flutters among the three instruments, sometimes grouping them in twos yet still maintaining a constantly devoted sense of thematic unity, is a wonder to hear.” –Fanfare (Steven Ritter)