Composer, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter Sufjan Stevens has announced his upcoming album Reflections, which is a studio recording of his score for the ballet by choreographer Justin Peck and performed by pianists Timo Andres and Conor Hanick. The album will be released on May 19 through Asthmatic Kitty Records.
In light of the happy news, Stevens has released the first single “Ekstasis,”which is a lively and percussive movement that showcases the clever cross rhythms, counterpoint and moving tonal centers that embody the whole of Reflections. A video featuring Andres and Hanick performing “Ekstasis” live is directed by Brian Paccione.
The studio recording was engineered, mixed and mastered by Ryan Streber at Oktaven Studios. Reflections is characteristic Stevens’s: dynamic, melodic, memorable, emotionally resonant and playful talent as a musician. This is Stevens’s second recorded release of his compositions for piano following The Decalogue in 2019 and his first written for two pianos.
There is a long tradition of composing for duo pianos from John Adams’ Hallelujah Junction to Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major and Stevens was happy to further explore the form. In the press release Stevens talks about he learned about using the piano for his music.
“I learned by ear, in a very rudimentary way, inspired by a wide range of music.” A lot of the work that I compose is anachronistic as it doesn’t follow a genealogy of aesthetic. It can be a cornucopia of styles.”
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
Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna
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