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Purchase
Sheet Music Direct or Sheet Music Plus
Details
Butterfly Lovers Variations based on “Butterfly Lovers Concerto” by Chen Gang and He Zhanhao / Full score / Difficulty: Advanced / Duration: 8 min / Pages: 21 / Copyright: 2013 / Work number: 071
Program Notes
Since its premiere in 1959, the Butterfly Lovers Concerto has become one of the most widely performed works in the Chinese orchestral repertoire, its principal theme instantly recognizable to audiences throughout Asia and beyond.
The Butterfly Lovers Variations takes the form of a continuous set of free variations inspired equally by the concerto’s music and narrative arc, from tenderness and growing affection through turmoil, loss, and, ultimately, transcendence.
A mysterious introduction gives way to the concerto’s celebrated theme, which gradually evolves through contrapuntal dialogue, shimmering filigree, and increasingly adventurous reharmonizations. After an impassioned central climax, the music withdraws into an intimate duet between the two pianists, whose fragile exchanges form the emotional heart of the work. The final variation becomes a luminous transfiguration inspired by the lovers’ transformation into butterflies before fading into a nostalgic reminiscence of the concerto’s closing moments.
— Greg Anderson
