Performance

Songs in the Key of Life

3 upcoming performances in New York

Released in 1976 as a sprawling, three-part statement, *Songs in the Key of Life* marked the point where Stevie Wonder’s early‑1970s run cohered into a single social and personal ledger. At BAM, the material is reframed in a classical idiom, performed by Stevie Wonder alongside premier musicians and rotating guest artists, with a companion dance work, *Remembering*, shaped by clear, music-led choreography. In New York, Wonder’s songs carry a long civic afterlife, circulating through borough block parties, jazz rooms, and conservatory programs. Heard this way, the writing’s moral focus comes forward without being smoothed into nostalgia.