ABOUT

Albert Hurwit is a Connecticut native and physician-turned-composer whose inspiring personal story and career have been profiled in the nationally broadcast PBS special “Lifecasters,” which premiered at Lincoln Center in 2013. Entitled “The Gambling Man,” the documentary chronicles the creation of his Symphony No.1 “Remembrance,” based on the story of the composer’s Jewish family’s escape from Russian persecution to begin a new life in America in the early 1900s. Self-described as being driven by pure passion and an acute musical ear, Hurwit decided to leave a successful medical career to compose full time—a decision that proved fruitful, as Remembrance has received wide acclaim from critics and audiences, including a first-place award for its third movement in the American Composer Competition of 2009.

“The persecution of various ethnic groups, forcing younger generations to separate from their elders and seek safety and freedom in foreign lands, is the story of this symphony and of untold families,” says Hurwit. Symphony No.1—as well as the stand-alone third movement “Remembrance”—has been performed by orchestras in Connecticut, Maryland, and Texas, as well as most recently (January 2020) by the Palm Beach Symphony Orchestra. Under the direction of Michael Lankester, former Music Director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Symphony No.1 was recorded by the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra and is published and distributed by MSR Classics.

Not surprisingly, given the composer’s attraction to themes of justice, unity, and peace, his more recent distinctive choral piece, “Are There Still Bells,” is a universal entreaty for world peace based upon Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “Christmas Bells.” Culminating in a pivotal moment in which the chorus sings “peace on earth” in Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and several other languages, Hurwit’s music consistently stirs the listener to lean into their humanity and to be guided by compassion.

Albert Hurwit was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1931 where he still lives. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Tufts Medical School, followed by a four-year residency in radiology at the New England Medical Center. Except for three years of piano lessons when he was a child, the composer has had no formal musical training.