Approaching

Symphony Number One's fourth album, featuring music by Nicholas Bentz, Martha Horst, and Hangrui Zhang.

RELEASE DATE: November 3, 2017

Symphony Number One is devoted not only to commissioning and premiering substantial works by emerging composers, but also to recording and distributing these works for the public. To that end, Symphony Number One has recorded every concert from its founding, releasing the best new music by stunning voices, many of whom are being heard widely for the very first time. Our fourth release, Approaching, features works in three sizes–small, medium, and large–from three of today’s hottest new composers, all lovingly prepared and performed by Symphony Number One in Baltimore.

—Jordan Randall Smith, Music Director

Featured Works

Nicholas Bentz, Approaching Eternity

"Approaching Eternity is a semi-autobiographical piece for chamber orchestra commissioned by Symphony Number One and its music director, Jordan Randall Smith. The piece is conceived as one large swath of music, with seven distinct sections that flow into each other without pause. Each of these sections is demarcated by a cryptic ‘totem’ that by some measure relates to a piece of visual art, poetry, literature, or even film, that served as a creative impetus for each respective section."

—Nicholas Bentz

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Martha Horst, Straussian Landscapes

"The instrumentation for Straussian Landscapes directly mirrors the instrumentation of Richard Strauss' late works for wind ensemble. It uses snippets and textures from Strauss’s operas and orchestral tone poems to create entirely new musical landscapes of sound. The work falls into three sections, which are all performed in succession. Night Birds, begins with undulating low orchestral wind texture inspired by Nacht from Strauss’ Alpine Symphony. A middle interlude featuring a chorale of Straussian harmonies for french horns seques into the final section, Salome’s Kiss. This eleven minute dramatic movement is built entirely out of woodwind textures from one measure in the final scene of this opera."

—Martha Horst

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Hangruiz Zhang, Baltimore Prelude

"Baltimore Prelude is a piece that summarizes my experience with the city of Baltimore. In my experience, Baltimore is a vibrant and energetic city, which I have enjoyed. The musical materials and fragments represent the highlights of my experience. Similar to the technique of montage in filmmaking, they are playfully interacting with each other and shifting the sonic image at a fast pace. It is a piece with energy and excitement, reflecting the various images of the city."

—Hangrui Zhang

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