Chrysalis (2024)

for Piano Trio

Duration: 15 min

Program Note

Chrysalis was commissioned by Marianne Ehrlich, an avid supporter of young musicians in Houston.When Marianne and I began discussing our commission, she suggested some points of inspiration, including J.S. Bach’s solo violin sonatas. Initially, I set out to write a piece entirely of my own original material, using the earlier repertoire as inspiration for feeling, rather than explicit homage. But, as the piece developed, I felt an instinctive pull to include quotations of Bach’s violin music.

Upon receiving the manuscript, Marianne suggested the title Chrysalis, which I found fitting on multiple levels. Aesthetically, the piece is full of fluttery and fragile textures, like a tapestry of butterfly wings. Conceptually, the quotations from Bach’s sonatas undergo a chrysalis-like metamorphosis. Each Bach theme emerges in the piece in a new form, “re-composed” to blend into my own contemporary harmonic language.