Meet the composer Albert Hurwit today, and listen to his music. Alby is a Hartford native, born in 1931. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Tufts Medical School, but has had no formal music training since playing the piano as a child. His First Symphony tells the story of his Jewish family's struggles with persecution in Russia, with the final movement telling the story of their escape to the United States. The third movement of the symphony is sometimes performed on its own, and won first place in the American Composer Competition in 2009. Gramophone Magazine called the symphony "Strikingly beautiful ... The whirling energy of movement 4 conveys the excitement of arriving in America."

The recordings of Andrei Eshpai will also be heard today.

Andrei Eshpai was born in 1925 in the ancient city of Kozmodemynsk on the Volga River in the republic of Mari. His father was one of Mari's first professional composers. He studied music in Moscow from 1934 to 1941, when he then served in the Soviet Army in WW II.  One of the fortunate people to survive the war, he resumed his studies in Moscow after the war. He was well-known in Russia during that period for both his compositions and his piano recitals. He died in 2015.
Russ Salk will bring his collection of recordings by contemporary composers for your listening pleasure. Enjoy musical excerpts and learn a bit about selected contemporary composers. Registration is appreciated.