Composer

Orchestral
Opera
Chamber Music
Vocal

On the composition front, Larry’s exciting news is the release in July, 2026 of his recording “Pierrot and Friends: Four Commedia Concerti” on the Naxos American Classics label. The four concerti were recorded in Lviv, Ukraine, by the Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. Within weeks after the release of the CD, the entire recording received a glowing review from Pizzicato Magazine:

The cycle ‘Pierrot and Friends’ consists of four Commedia dell’arte pieces that musically depict the characters Pierrot, Columbina, Innamorata, and Harlequin through highly colorful and evocative music.

The music, composed with sensitivity and an almost tender touch, reveals Lipkis’s affection for his subject. As solo instruments, Lipkis chose the bassoon for Pierrot, the violin for Columbina, the flute for Innamorata, and finally the trombone for Harlequin.

This sonic fantasy, coupled with the many excellent ideas, makes this 70-minute, four-part work a real joy to listen to — all the more so because the Lviv Orchestra performs the music with such verve and skill.

Larry has written many solo, chamber, orchestral, and vocal works during his career as a composer, and has received numerous grants, awards, and commissions. Some of his works are listed below with links to recordings, videos, and scores. More information on these pieces can be found by clicking on the links above.

Several of Larry’s chamber works are available on the CD “Chamber Music,” which features five pieces of chamber music composed by Larry within the past ten years, and features Moravian University faculty members and colleagues Deborah Andrus, clarinet; Inna Eyzerovich, violin; Robin Kani, flute; and Martha Schrempel, piano. The works include Rebel Angel, Ukioy-e, Flute Sonata, SummerDance, and Two Butterflies. The collection is available on Amazon, Apple Music Classical and other outlets.

Also available on Amazon: The film “The Juniper Tree, directed by the late Nietzchka Keene, based on a Grimms Fairy Tale, stars eclectic Icelandic pop star Bjork in her first feature film. Larry Lipkis scored the music for the film, which was released in 1990. In the spring of 2019 it was digitally remastered and is now available on Blue-ray. The score was performed live by a string and vocal ensemble during a showing of the film at the famed Rio Theater in London, England in November of 2024.

Other works of Larry Lipkis that can be accessed online are:

Generations for string quintet and piano. Available on Apple Music Classical

Scaramouche Variations for solo piano. Available on Apple Music Classical

One of Larry Lipkis’ recent chamber works, composed in the summer of ’24, is entitled “Circadia.” The piece was commissioned by the Southern Cross Soloists, an ensemble based in Brisbane, Australia. The work is scored for flute, oboe, Fr. horn, violin, cello, piano, and….didgerdoo!

Another recent chamber work, “Kabir’s Flute,” was premiered in April, 2023 at Moravian University. Scored for flute, percussion, and reader, the piece is a setting of three poems by Kabir, a 15th c. Indian poet, mystic, and saint. The performance can be viewed on YouTube at: Kabir’s Flute. The work is dedicated to the late actor Alan Arkin.

Three of Larry’s latest scores have recently been published by Guitar Chamber Music Press.

Over two dozen of Larry’s scores are available for purchase at his J.W. Pepper My Score site and many can be viewed on Larry’s You Tube channel using this link. Please subscribe! The scores on the J.W. Pepper site are listed below and can be viewed by clicking on this link: Music by Larry Lipkis.

More information on the following scores and recordings can be found on the Orchestral, Opera, Chamber Music, and Vocal Music links found at the top if this page.

Piano

Waltz-Fantasy: Commissioned and premiered by Dimitri Toufexis at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center. .

Scaramouche Variations: a set of five variations on an original theme, inspired by the whimsical antics of Scaramouche, a stock character in the Italian Commedia dell Artè street theater. The set is about 7’30” in duration. The scrolling score can be accessed on YouTube at Scaramouche Variations.

Guitar and Voice/Flute

Two Sephardic Songs (guitar and voice). Published by Guitar Chamber Music Press. Composed for the Bowers-Fader Duo View on YouTube: Two Sephardic Songs

Songs from a Cook Book (guitar and voice) Published by Guitar Chamber Music Press. Composed for the Bowers-Fader Duo. View on YouTube: Songs from a Cook Book

Sepharad (guitar and flute). Published by Guitar Chamber Music Press.

Choral

A Christmas Carol (SATB): a setting of the poem of the same name by G.F. Chesterton. View a performance by the Bach Choir of Bethlehem on You Tube

Be Thou Faithful (SATB). Published by G. Schirmer (score currently available at Wise Music Classical.)

I Am the Self (SATB): a setting of verses from the Hindu holy book, the Bhagavad Gita

Prayer of St. Francis (SATB, flute, cello, piano): the famous prayer, set in a lyrical fashion. Also in a version for solo baritone, flute, and piano.

Songs from a Cook Book (SATB, piano). A witty setting of four short poems by Barry Spacks, based on “The Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child. Also exists in a version for soprano or tenor and piano. The newest, for version, for mezzo-soprano and guitar, is published by Guitar Chamber Music Press. View a perforance on YouTube here,

Tacuit in Praesepio (SSAA, piano). Perfect for a Christmas Eve service, this is an admonition in Latin for listeners to turn off their mobile phones and other electronic devices. The title translates as,”It was quiet in8 the manger.” Access the scrolling score on YouTube at Tacuit Praesepio.

The Elixir (SATB). A powerful, largely homophonic setting of the famous sacred poem by George Herbert.

Three Canticles of Light (SS, piano). A setting for two sopranos and piano of three short sacred texts about light from three faith traditions: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.  In Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin.

Chamber Music

Elegy and Scherzo for Woodwind Quintet: Two very contrasting pieces–the first lyrical and poignant, the second bright and sparkling, with echoes of the classic quintet repertory from 19th c. France. The Elegy exists in several versions for strings (see below). Access the scrolling on YouTube at Elegy and Scherzo

Elegy for String Quartet (also available for String Quintet and String Orchestra). Lyrical and poignant. Access the scrolling score on YouTube at Elegy

Kabir’s Flute for flute, percussion, and reader. Kabir (d. 1519) was an Indian poet, mystic, and saint. His poetry is vibrant and passionate, and turns rhapsodic when he describes the flute (likely a stand-in for the soul). The percussion part requires two players. Access a live performance on YouTube at

Pierrot : A trio version for bassoon, cello, and piano, of my concerto Pierrot, for bassoon and orchestra in three movements–“In the Dancing Master’s Palace,” “The Magic Garden,” and “The Flight to Seventh Heaven.”(see below under Orchestral Music). Access the scrolling video of the first movement at Pierrot

Romance and Pastorale for Piano Quintet (string quartet plus piano): A lushly romantic and lyrical first movement is paired with a lighter, rhythmically vibrant second movement. Access the scrolling score on YouTube at Romance and Pastorale

Three Fantasies on Renaissance Folk Tunes for string quartet: Based on tunes from the era of Emperor Maximillian I of the Holy Roman Empire, these are simple contrapuntal settings, inspired bythe style of Flemish Renaissance composers such as Josquin des Prez, but in an contemporary idiom. Access the scrolling score on YouTube at Three Fantasies on Renaissance Folk Tunes

Rebel Angel (clarinet/bass cl.,violin, piano): Inspired by the eponymous novel by Robertson Davies and “Black Angels” by George Crumb, the three movements–Epiphany, Love-Dance, and Transcendence–trace the journey of Semyaza, the leader of the rebel (or fallen or black) angels. The violinist plays bowed crotales in the final movement. Access the scrolling score on YouTube at Rebel Angel

Song and Dance (cello solo): a short etude-like work contrasting a lyrical section with lively, dance-like rhythms. Access the scrollig score on YouTube at Song and Dance for Solo Cello

SummerDance (cl., violin, piano). Pure sparkle and sunshine, light as a soap bubble. Also in a version for alto saxophone, violin, and piano. Access the scrolling score on YouTube at SummerDance

Two Butterflies (violin, piano): Based on the poem “Two Butterflies” by Emily Dickenson and featuring an extended quote from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, this short work was composed for the 50th wedding anniversary of dear friends Jack and Patty deBellis. Access the scrolling score on YouTube at Two Butterflies

Ukioye (flute, cello, and piano): The title translates as “Pictures from a Floating Word.” The three short movements–“Teahouse,” “Jasmine Moon,” and “Kabuki,” are inspired by woodcuts from the Edo period in Japan. Access the scrolling scores on YouTube at Teahouse, Jasmine Moon, and Kabuki

Flute Sonata (flute and piano). This is the flute/piano version of my Flute Concerto (not available on My Score). Access the scrolling scores on YouTube at “Rhapsody” “Scherzo” “Pastorale” and “Romp”

Intrada for Brass Quintet. Commissioned for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvainia, this short, ceremonial work celebrates the centrality of brass instruments–particularly the trombone–in the musical life of the Moravians, the first settlers of Bethlehem. Access the scrolling score on YouTube at Intrada

Peasant Fare for mixed ensemble (soprano, baritone, flute, clarinet, and bassoon). A suite of four short movements that features rustic German folk songs and tunes (“Ein Hund kam in die Kuche,” “Fein Sein,” and “Wann man tut zusammen klauben,’ set in a witty, contemporary idiom.

Sepharad for flute and guitar. The short pieces–challenging but accessible–based on the idioms of Sephardic traditional music. The pieces are titled “La Rosa,” “La Serena,” and “La Morena”, and the first two exist as solo songs for mezzo-soprano and guitar (see below). Sepharad is avaialble for purchase at Guitar Chamber Music Press.

Orchestral Music

Scaramouche (1993): A concerto for cello and orchestra in three movements–“Pantomime,” “Soliloquy,” and “À la Victoire!”–premiered by the Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra. Recorded on the Koch International label, with Carter Brey, cello, and the LVCO.

Harlequin (1997): A concerto in one movement for bass trombone and orchestra. Commissioned and premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Jeffrey Reynolds, soloists. Published by Warwick Press. It is also the final track on Larry’s new recording–“Pierrot and Friends” on the Naxos American Classics label.

Pierrot (2001): A concerto for bassoon and orchestra in three movements–“In the Dancing Master’s Palace,” “The Magic Garden,” and “The Flight to Seventh Heaven.” Commissioned and premiered by the Houston Symphony, Benjamin Kamins, soloist. Also exists in a trio version for bassoon, cello, and piano.

Dance Suite (2008): a suite of five short movements–Pas de Deux, Sarabande, Arabesque, SummerDance, and Rondo Caprice–composed for the Moravian College Community Orchestra.

Maestranza (2011). This short fanfare for orchestra makes use of non-traditional placements of instruments throughout the concert hall to simulate the effect of sitting in the famous bullring of Seville, the “Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla,” which is the setting for Act IV of the opera Carmen. Access the music on YouTube at Maestranza

Rhapsody and Riffs for alto saxophone and orchestra (2019). A jazz-tinged tour-de-force for solo saxophone involving passages of improvisation mixed with virtuosic displays of technical prowess.

Wind Ensemble

Overture to Peronelle (2013): A medley of tunes from my opera Peronelle (1990).

Songs

Prayer of St. Francis (baritone, flute, piano). See description under Choral Music

Songs from a Cook Book (high voice, piano). See description under Choral Music

Three Canticles of Light (SS, piano). See description under Choral music.

Two Sephardic Sogs (mezzo-soprano and guitar). Two contrasting songs, La Rosa and La Serena–the first poingant, the second comic–bring out the charming character of Sephardic culture. They are also published by Guitar Chamber Music Press.

Besides the above works, Larry Lipkis has written over sixty works for orchestra, choir, chamber ensembles, and piano. He has composed several concertos based on characters from the Commedia dell’Arte—Harlequin, Pierrot, and Scaramouche— which have been performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, and Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra. His two chamber operas Peronelle and Simonetta are based on the lives and loves of two medieval/Renaissance artistic luminaries—Guillaume de Machaut and Sandro Botticelli, respectively.

Scene 6 from Simonetta was performed in July, 2017, in New York, by the Litha Symphony Orchestra.

The plot of Simonetta traces the relationships of the artist Sandro Botticelli, his young model Simonetta Vespucci, and the fiery Dominican preacher Savonarola, who wishes to turn Florence into a theocracy.  Sandro, smitten by Simonetta’s beauty and devastated by her early death, becomes unmoored and allows himself to be swayed by Savonarola’s nihilistic teachings, to the point of burning his own works of art in the “bonfire of the vanities.” As he descends into madness, the spirit of Simonetta appears and admonishes Sandro to stay true to his commitment to create and preserve his art for the ages.

Simonetta is in two acts, a total of nine scenes, with a libretto by Robert Block. The running time is about 80 minutes. The cast is: Simonetta (soprano); Pino Lippi (alto or countertenor), Botticelli (tenor), Savonarola (baritone). The first act contains small roles for Botticelli’s father (baritone) and Lippi’s father (baritone, who can double the part of Savonarola.) There is also a part for a children’s chorus, which may be pre-recorded. The work can be performed with piano or an orchestral accompaniment of 13 instrumentalists.

A chamber version of Simonetta consists of five scenes and lasts approximately 45-50 minutes. This version eliminates the first scene, thus includes only the four principal singers. An accompanied narration, plus projections of Botticelli’s art works, are used to flesh out the story.

More information about Simonetta, including excerpts of scores and libretto, can be obtained by contacting Larry Lipkis at lalipkis@moravian.edu

Watch a performance of Scene 6 of Simonetta

Larry is also the Composition Competition Coordinator for the Allentown Symphony Orchestra’s “Enigma Variations” project (2016) and Pictures at an Exhibition” project (2017-8). The latter project premiered on March 10 and 11, 2018 to great acclaim.