Hurwit: Symphony No.1 Remembrance

Editorial Reviews
Gramophone, September 2005
"Strikingly beautiful...glorious and affecting main theme...Lankester draws committed and sumptuous playing from the Bulgarian orchestra."

Atlanta Audio Society, June 2005
"A luminous score...'Remembrance' strikes a universal chord...Hurwit shows skill transforming his themes [to] unify a large scale work."

Album Description
For centuries, the persecution of various ethnic groups has forced younger generations to separate from their elders and seek safety and freedom in foreign lands. Despite differences in historical circumstances, the tragedies and triumphs of the experience are essentially the same. It is the story of untold numbers of families. It is the story of this symphony.

Hurwit: Symphony No.1 Remembrance

Hurwit: Symphony No.1 Remembrance, Music, Albert Hurwit, Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Michael Lankester, Classical, Classical Composers, Orchestral & Symphonic, The elegant blending of classical music with Klezmer, Eastern European and New World themes results in an epic and moving symphony which has won international acclaim.

Hurwit: Symphony No.1 Remembrance
Average customer rating:

Can't stop listening...

Beautifully, evocatively original!

Too much of a good thing

Fabulous CD

Wonderful new symphony

Hurwit: Symphony No.1 Remembrance
Albert Hurwit , Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra , and Michael Lankester
Manufacturer: MSR Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Continental Europe | Europe | International | Styles | Music
Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0007U3JS8
Release Date: 2005-03-01

Tracks:

Origins
Separation
Remembrance
Arrival

Album Description

For centuries, the persecution of various ethnic groups has forced younger generations to separate from their elders and seek safety and freedom in foreign lands. Despite differences in historical circumstances, the tragedies and triumphs of the experience are essentially the same. It is the story of untold numbers of families. It is the story of this symphony.

Customer Reviews:

Can't stop listening..........2007-07-14

What an incredibly moving piece of music! It evokes such powerful imagery and emotions. I am not sure where the composer gets it all from, but the many different themes and passages of music call up so many different kinds of feelings. Sadness, joy, loss, tension, confusion, vitality -- its all there. I can't seem to get the main theme out of my head. I have bought it as a gift for many people and everyone expresses a similar comment about the intensity of feeling. A very deep and complex symphony that is easy to relate to and crave again and again. Bravo to Hurwit!

Beautifully, evocatively original!.......2006-06-13

An amazing, highly original symphonic hour that holds me spellbound every time I hear it. Hurwit brings forth all sorts of imagery within these movements that blend a sometimes Mahler-esque romantic feel with varied European musical themes that often surprise and engage the listener. You have to hear it yourself, it's not like anything else out there in the classical ouevre. Touches a lot of emotional points for me, and it's the only CD I DON"T rotate out of my compilations! Highly recommend.

Too much of a good thing.......2006-06-04

Melody is sorely lacking in contemporary compositions. The amount of melody and its very traditional treatment in Hurwit's symphony will appeal to those who deplore much of what happened in the 20th century.

The downside is this overextended piece is highly repetitious and predictable, however noble its intentions. The composer's lack of training shows. Unless you plan to keep it going as nice background music, I predict you will tire of this symphony after a few hearings. For better contemporary Romantic alternatives, try anything by Samuel Barber, Lowell Liebermann, Lee Hoiby's 2nd piano concerto, or some of Hayden Wayne's compositions.

Fabulous CD.......2005-05-06

I listen to this symphony while I am creating my mixed media art. It is absolutely beautiful and meaningful to me.

Wonderful new symphony.......2005-04-10

I had bought this CD earlier and wanted a second copy for another location. Many of us think of classical music as being written so far in the past. My personal favorites, Vivaldi and Schubert are neither American nor contemporary. It is especially exciting to hear a wonderful new American piece which resonates so much to our century(ies) and evokes the places and images of the immigrant twentieth century as this piece does. What a great accompaniment it would be for a movie presenting the good and bad European/American experiences of the twentieth century, like Schindler's list. My wife and I find this symphony both relaxing and interesting. Take a chance on this new composer. The experience is well worth it.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Searching for the End

The Romance of Spain

Transcriptions for Chromatic Harmonica (French Compositions)

Second Sight

Under Pressure [Import]

Tuscarora: Short Stories for Jazz Piano

Tosa Grammata [Import]

Unsung Heroes [Import]

Tuatara [Import]

Valentin Silvestrov: Leggiero, pesante

The Doble Gigante: The Latin Jazz Sides [Import]

Tamborazos De Amor

The Big Break [Import]

The Brothers: Isley

La Camorra