Audio: Marisa Lin

This piece, titled Death of the Moth, is inspired by Virginia Wolfe's essay of the same name, in which the narrator, on a peaceful Autumn afternoon, spots a moth fluttering on the windowsill. After further observation, it dawns on her that the moth's frantic movements are a fierce fight against the oncoming tide of death. The moth's struggle is depicted in this piece, which begins with nervous energy and builds to a cacophony of spasmodic fragments on top of a march-like tune that signals the inexorable approach of Death. Eventually, the moth, portrayed by the soprano saxophone, succumbs, its frenzied fluttering is stilled by the indifferent grasp of Death. — Marisa Lin