The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway - so good, they wrote a symphony about it

Highways and driving feature heavily in popular song - from '60s surf groups to modern hip-hop - but how many roads get classical music written about them? Sufjan Stevens' The BQE is the honourable exception...
January 26, 2024

THE BQE- A FILM BY SUFJAN STEVENS


The BQE is a mixed-medium artistic exploration of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway by Sufjan Stevens. The project originally manifested in the form of a live show, performed on November 1–3, 2007. The show consisted of an original film, directed and written by Stevens, accompanied by an orchestra performing a live soundtrack.

The album recording was made after the rehearsals for the show. It was recorded live during a one-day session in Legacy Studios' A509 orchestral suite (since closed and demolished) with most of the group in the same large room together.

A multimedia package of The BQE was released on October 20, 2009. The set consists of a CD of the show's soundtrack, a DVD of Brooklyn-Queen Expressway footage that accompanied the original performance (not a film of the performance itself), a 40-page booklet with liner notes and photos, and a stereoscopic 3D View-Master reel. There is also a limited edition version that features the soundtrack on 180-gram vinyl and a 40-page BQE-themed comic book starring the show's hula-hooping wonder women, The Hooper Heroes.

The BQE was called a "symphonic and cinematic exploration of New York City's infamous Brooklyn–Queens Expressway." 

The BQE was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music as part of their Next Wave Festival.

Related Content

  • ITS World Congress 2016 call for papers now open
    November 13, 2015
    The call for papers for the 23rd World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems 2016 has officially opened. The Congress will be staged at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia from 10 to 14 October 2016. The theme for the 2016 World Congress is “Enhancing Liveable Cities and Communities”. Scientific papers should concentrate on research and scholarships as they will be independently refereed in accordance with academic journal standards. Full papers of up to 12 pages wil
    Read More
  • Avery Dennison exhibits V-8000 Visiflex
    March 20, 2018
    Avery Dennison is showing its new V-8000 Visiflex reflective prismatic vinyl for the emergency vehicle market, OmniCube retroreflective sheeting, and digital traffic sign printing system. VisiFlex V-800 Prismatic Vinyl film, specially designed for fleet applications to enhance safety, is available in six vibrant colours. Its vinyl construction makes it extremely flexible and suitable for simple curves.
    Read More
  • New Yorkers split on congestion pricing, tolling plan
    May 18, 2015
    In a recently published Quinnipiac University poll, 49 per cent of voters on New York opposed a proposal to toll the East River bridges and at the same time reduce tolls on the ‘outer borough’ bridges between the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island and use the money for mass transit. Forty-four per cent backed the plan. Opposition to just setting tolls on the free East River bridges remains strong at 69 per cent, with just 27 per cent in favour, the independent poll finds. There is no group that co
    Read More
  • UN campaign launches on World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims
    November 20, 2023
    #moments2live4 supports those involved in road safety and runs until 12 December
    Read More

Highlighted Content