Ballet Austin Will Perform LOVE'S GENTLE SPRING in March
Performances run March 28–30 at the Long Center for the Performing Arts.
By: Stephi Wild Feb. 27, 2025
Ballet Austin will welcome the arrival of springtime with the World Premiere of Love’s Gentle Spring, a breathtaking new work from Artistic Director Stephen Mills. Inspired by the season and the vibrancy of its awakening, this production blends romantic and contemporary artistry into an unforgettable evening of dance and music. With live accompaniment by the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Love’s Gentle Spring unfolds in two movements—each a distinct yet harmonized reflection of love, renewal, and the passage of time.
Audiences are invited to experience this evocative World Premiere March 28–30 at the Long Center for the Performing Arts.
Love’s Gentle Spring is an homage to the season’s transformative beauty, weaving together the sweeping Romanticism of Antonín Dvořák and the bold innovation of contemporary composer Bryce Dessner.
The first movement, set to Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96 (also known as the American Quartet), captures the feeling of a springtime countryside in bloom. Composed over the course of just 13 days in the Iowa countryside, Dvořák’s piece exudes the warmth and folk-inspired melodies of spring’s return. Performed live by the Austin Symphony Orchestra, this movement is a pastoral reverie, where dance and music intertwine like sunlight through leaves.
A Vibrant, Contemporary Dreamscape
In contrast, the second movement shifts into a bold, modern energy with Bryce Dessner’s Concerto for Two Pianos, performed live by acclaimed duo Quattro Mani (Susan Grace & Steven Beck). A Grammy-winning composer and member of American indie-band The National, Dessner infuses this exhilarating score with a rhythmic pulse that bridges classical tradition with a fresh, dynamic edge. Like a meadow bursting into color, this segment of Love’s Gentle Spring is an ode to new beginnings, passion, and the unrelenting forward motion of life.
Dessner has been called “a vital and rare force in new music.” His compositions have been performed by Orchestre de Paris, BBC Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and many more. He has worked with a variety of artists, including Philip Glass, Paul Simon, Bon Iver and Taylor Swift. Co-Commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Dessner’s “Concerto for Two Pianos,” was first performed by Katia and Marielle Labèque in 2018.
Quattro Mani, the acclaimed piano duo of Susan Grace and Steven Beck, is recognized for its fearless artistry and collaborations with leading contemporary composers. Praised as “one of the most enduring and leading keyboard duos anywhere,” they have premiered and recorded works by George Crumb, Paul Lansky, Tod Machover, and more. Grace, a Grammy-nominated pianist and Steinway Artist, is artist-in-residence at Colorado College and director of its Summer Music Festival, while Beck, also a Steinway Artist, is a soloist, chamber musician, and faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Together, they bring a bold and innovative presence to stages worldwide.
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