Sufjan’s Fascination With Outer Space
Six years ago, the National’s Bryce Dessner was commissioned by Dutch concert hall Muziekgebouw Eindhoven to create music for seven trombones and a string quartet. At the time it seemed like a casual endeavor—another one of Dessner’s many side projects undertaken simultaneously with the National’s touring and recording, from conducting experimental arthouse sets to curating festival lineups. But instead of tackling the orchestral assignment by himself, Dessner asked Nico Muhly and Sufjan Stevens to help. The collaboration will see a proper release on June 9. The crux of Planetarium’s appeal remains its least understood aspect: a fixation on outer space’s unknown.
