Composer Michael Hersch is enjoying a number ofmajor premieres this spring. February saw the world premiere of his first string quartet, Images from a Closed Ward, by the Blair String Quartet. Describing the new composition as "an expansive 45-minute work of searing energy and emotion" that "defies expectations,"ArtNowNashville considered the performance "a wonderful premiere." On April 5, the ensemble reprises the piece for its New York premiere at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall. This follows two important debuts on March 15 and 17, when the Cleveland Orchestra presents the world premiere of Hersch's trumpet concerto, Night Pieces, preceded by the world premiere of Two Lullabies, his new work for solo piano, performed by the composer himself. And another significant addition to Hersch's oeuvre debuts on May 18, when award-winning pianist Shai Wosner gives the world premiere of Hersch's second piano concerto, along the ravines, with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra under Gerard Schwarz.