Sufjan Stevens to release new ballet score Reflections
“Ekstasis,” written by Stevens and performed by Timo Andres and Conor Hanick, is streaming now.
Sufjan Stevens is releasing his score for the ballet Reflections. The album, performed by pianist Timo Andres and Conor Hanick, is out on May 19 via Asthmatic Kitty. Scroll down to hear "Ekstasis," the first release from the upcoming album.
Composed by Stevens, Reflections was originally commissioned by Houston Ballet to accompany choreography by Justin Peck. The ballet premiered on March 21, 2019. All of the music on this album is performed by pianists Timo Andres and Conor Hanick. Peck and Sufjan Stevens have previously collaborated on several other ballets, including The Decalogue, which was released in 2019.
“Although I've never taken a lesson the piano was my first true love," Stevens says in a statement shared with press. "Having two of them at my disposal was an exciting opportunity and gave me a real catharsis about the expansiveness of the instrument."
The album, which includes a track titled "And I Shall Come To You Like A Stormtrooper in Drag Serving Imperial Realness," is about "energy, light and duality, according to Stevens. "I'm constantly thinking about bodies moving through space when I'm writing for ballet. That is what has informed this music, first and foremost."
Stevens' most recent release was A Beginner's Mind, a 2021 album made with Angelo De Augustine. His last solo studio album, The Ascension, came out in 2020.
Reflections tracklist:
1. Ekstasis
2. Revanche
3. Euphoros
4. Mnemosyne
5. Rodinia
6. Reflexion
7. And I Shall Come To You Like A Stormtrooper In Drag Serving Imperial Realness