The three-part composition Butterflies, dedicated to the Cantus Ensemble, was coming into existence as a kind of work-in-progress. In late June 2005, the ensemble first performed the last movement Rose Petals at the Amadeo Stage of Zagreb Festival, before giving the premiere performance of the entire work in November of the same year. The latter premiere took place at the opening concert of the series EBU Cities of Music and was given by the Cantus Ensemble and broadcast directly by twelve European radio stations. The piece won the prestigious Josip Štolcer Slavenski Award of the daily newspaper Vjesnik as the best composition of 2005. The composer wrote it for string and wind quintets.

‘I almost always give my compositions extramusical titles because I feel that by doing so I integrate the musical content with all the experiences gained through my senses, except for hearing. I did not look beyond music to find the inspiration. The content of the composition has been associated with an experience from nature that left an imprint on my mind. The first movement, African Violet, is composed in the three-part form and in swift tempo, with the bass clarinet introducing the thematic material in the central part, whereas the first and third sections are performed by all the instruments. The musical content of Mirabilis, which is also written in the three-part form, has been arranged in low registers of dark instrumental colouring in order to create the atmosphere of dark and flickering colours. I wrote Rose Petals in a very virtuosic manner. This brisk movement represents vivid interaction between the instruments, the one that celebrates life, nature and existence.’