Composer: ALBERT HURWIT (b. 1931)

Information:
In 1997, Albert Hurwit's five-minute Adagio for Orchestra was premiered by the Hartford Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Michael Lankester. The audience's enthusiastic response, as well as positive comments from many area professionals, encouraged Hurwit to expand the piece into a full symphony. In 2000, after Lankester heard a draft of the first movement of the symphony, he offered to serve as Hurwit's mentor. Two years later, the full-length Symphony was completed. In 2003, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Edward Cumming, premiered the new work's Third Movement, "Remembrance". Symphony No.1 is Hurwit's first recorded work.
The composer's family history, as reflected in the Movement titles, has been the inspiration of Symphony No.1. This symphony is a remembrance to all who have paved the road to freedom.
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.
Albert Hurwit was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1931. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Tufts Medical School. He retired from his medical practice in 1986 in order to dedicate his energies to composition.