Championed by distinguished conductors such as Marin Alsop and Mariss Jansons, since his mid-20s, Michael Hersch�s music has been performed by leading orchestras and concert artists. Winner of the prestigious Berlin Prize and the Rome Prize for composition, he has been described as a �new hope of American musical culture� by the Berliner Morgenpost, and a composer of �phenomenal musical ability� by the Financial Times. Hersch�s music, which ranges across vast and often anguished soundscapes, has a searing yet breath-taking effect. If Symphony No. 1 shows a young composer influenced by Mahler and Berg, Symphony No. 2 represents a more innovative and complex style. Fracta and Arrach� are two harrowing and intense shorter pieces illustrative of Hersch�s most recent work. All works here receive their world premi�re recording.