"A Cold Wind Blows (An Arrangement for Orchestra)" is Tim Neumark's arrangement of Doug Hammer's piano solo from his recently-released album, November. Recorded by the Budapest Scoring Orchestra, the orchestration is faithful to the original and yet gives it an entirely different "flavor." I found it intriguing to learn that Doug Hammer did the mastering for the single without giving any input or requesting any changes. Quoting Tim:

"I can say without question that November is on my list of all-time favorite Solo Piano albums. And that list is very short -- maybe 6 or 7 albums. The first time I heard this song I was absolutely astonished at how the whole piano came alive. In the forte and fortissimo sections, I was actually yelling and cheering along with it....I didn't get the idea to arrange this for orchestra immediately. It was only after listening to this album a few times -- and this track many times -- that I got the idea. I was thinking how 'he makes the piano come alive like a full orchestra,' and then it dawned on me... I should actually write this for a full orchestra!"

"A Cold Wind Blows (An Arrangement for Orchestra)" is a fascinating project and a beautiful piece of music as a piano solo and orchestrated. I strongly suggest listening to both versions to get a full appreciation of this piece! Tim Neumark's orchestration is available from Amazon, Apple/iTunes and streaming sites including Spotify. Highly recommended!