''The Baltimore Bomb'' is a one-

movement Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger co ...

composition for

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

by the American composer

Caroline Shaw Caroline Adelaide Shaw (born August 1, 1982) is an American composer of contemporary classical music, violinist, and singer. She won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her a cappella piece '' Partita for 8 Voices''. Shaw received the 2022 G ...

. The work was commissioned by the

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, ...

in celebration of the ensemble's centennial. Its world premiere was given at the

Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, often referred to simply as the Meyerhoff, is a music venue that opened September 16, 1982, at 1212 Cathedral Street in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The main auditori ...

on September 17, 2016, by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conducted by

Marin Alsop Marin Alsop (; born October 16, 1956) is an American conductor. She is the first woman to win the Koussevitzky Prize for conducting and the first conductor to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. She is music director laureate of the Baltimor ...

. The piece is named after an iconic

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

pie A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), fruit preserves ( jam tart ...

known as the "Baltimore Bomb."

Reception

''The Baltimore Bomb'' has been praised by music critics.

Tim Smith Tim, Timothy or Timmy Smith may refer to: Musicians * T. V. Smith (born 1956), British singer and songwriter *Tim Smith (Cardiacs) (1961–2020), English singer-songwriter and frontman of Cardiacs **"Tim Smith", a 2009 song by the Wildhearts from ...

of ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'' called the work "an attractive curtain-raiser" and wrote, "A suggestion of clanking cutlery from the percussion section — evoking eager dessert eaters, perhaps — provides an initial pulse for ''The Baltimore Bomb'', which gets further fuel from lush chord progressions." J. T. Hassell of the ''Washington Classical Review'' further remarked, "Appropriately, this commissioned work by the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning American composer began with spoons clinking rhythmically on a plate. Out of this grew an effervescent swell of strings and winds, which Alsop steadily built into a sumptuous statement from the full orchestra. This brief climax subsided and diminished steadily and returned to the lone sound of spoons on plates to close the piece."

References

Compositions by Caroline Shaw 2016 compositions Contemporary classical compositions Compositions for symphony orchestra Music commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra {{classical-composition-stub