Nat Bartsch – Hope (for orchestra) (Numbered)

Hope (for orchestra) is a work of lyrical, cinematic beauty, composed and arranged by Australian pianist Nat Bartsch and performed by Budapest Art Orchestra. This single release signifies a completion of a genre-bending circle that has become synonymous with Nat’s work. 

Hope first began as the closing title track of Nat’s 2021 ARIA-nominated album, for piano, string quartet and ambient electronics. Hope was composed during 2020 and reflects upon the Australian Black Summer bushfires and the global pandemic of that year. The title, therefore, is an abbreviation of hopefulness and hopelessness; a musical space to sit with, and process, the many difficult experiences associated with that time. The album resonated strongly with Nat’s audience, receiving critical and public acclaim, a standing ovation at its premiere, and ARIA, AIR and Music Victoria nominations. 

In 2022 Nat was commissioned to arrange the final track for Symphony Orchestra. In parallel, she recorded and released a jazz-post rock reinterpretation of this album, Hope Renewed. This re-interpretation created an epic mosaic of sound, blending a jazz quartet, chamber musicians and post-rock effects. The world premiere of Hope for orchestra, performed by Stonnington Symphony Orchestra, appears as a sample, embedded within ambient effects, in the final track of Hope Renewed. 

As the world continues to experience the heartbreak of violent conflicts, climate change inaction and social inequalities, Nat realised there was still a place for hopeful music: thus, Hope was recorded once more: this time, its symphonic arrangement, by the Budapest Art Orchestra. 

Accompanying the single is Over the River, another track from Hope/Hope Renewed, which has undergone a transformation from String Quartet, to post-rock anthem, to neoclassical solo piano with granular synthesis, performed by Nat.