This is one of four famous and well known Chinese folk tales. Butterfly Lovers dates back to around 700AD when it was first written down. I have had the fortune to conduct the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto composed by two university students in 1959 by  He Zhanhao and Chen Gang. One of my performances was with the Carey Baptist Grammar School Symphony Orchestra and the other with The Grainger Wind Symphony.

On Thursday 13th October 2022, I had the pleasure to experience a new version of this tale. The Victorian Opera staged The Butterfly Lovers to a score composed by their Artistic Director Richard Mills. I wrote a short review as part of a Facebook post. A superb performance on so many levels.

Update: On February 28 2026, I curated a concert Celebrating The Chinese Lunar New Year with the Grainger Wind Symphony and guest soloists. Along with other contemporary Chinese composers, we performed The Liang Zhu: Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto. In this performance Alyssa Wong, then music student who just completed her Music Degree, to perform the solo violin. The other works in the program allowed me to touch my Chinese heritage through performing the music written by contemporary Asian composers.