Kronos Quartet - 25 Years
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Philip Glass, Ken Benshoof, Steve Reich, P. Q. Pfan, Astor Piazzolla, Terry Riley, Peter Sculthorpe, Alfred Schnittke, George (Henry) Crumb, John Adams, Arvo Pärt, Frangiz Ali-Zade, Henryk Górecki, Kevin Volans, Morton Feldman, Osvaldo Golijov, Sofia Gubaidulina
Label: Nonesuch
Magazine Review Date: 4/1999
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 653
Mastering:
DDD
ADD
Catalogue Number: 7559-79504-2

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
John's Book of Alleged Dances |
John Adams, Composer
John Adams, Composer Kronos Qt |
Fratres |
Arvo Pärt, Composer
Arvo Pärt, Composer Kronos Qt |
Psalom |
Arvo Pärt, Composer
Arvo Pärt, Composer Kronos Qt |
Summa |
Arvo Pärt, Composer
Arvo Pärt, Composer Kronos Qt |
Missa Sillabica |
Arvo Pärt, Composer
Arvo Pärt, Composer Ellen Hargis, Soprano Kronos Qt Neal Rogers, Tenor Paul Hillier, Bass Suzanne Elder, Contralto (Female alto) |
Traveling Music |
Ken Benshoof, Composer
Ken Benshoof, Composer Kronos Qt |
Song of Twenty Shadows |
Ken Benshoof, Composer
Ken Benshoof, Composer Kronos Qt |
(5) Tango Sensations |
Astor Piazzolla, Composer
Astor Piazzolla, Composer Kronos Qt |
Four, for Tango |
Astor Piazzolla, Composer
Astor Piazzolla, Composer Kronos Qt |
Piano Quintet |
Morton Feldman, Composer
Aki Takahashi, Piano Kronos Qt Morton Feldman, Composer |
String Quartet No. 4, 'Buczak' |
Philip Glass, Composer
Kronos Qt Philip Glass, Composer |
String Quartet No. 3, 'Mishima' |
Philip Glass, Composer
Kronos Qt Philip Glass, Composer |
String Quartet No. 2, 'Company' |
Philip Glass, Composer
Kronos Qt Philip Glass, Composer |
String Quartet No. 5 |
Philip Glass, Composer
Kronos Qt Philip Glass, Composer |
(The) Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind |
Osvaldo Golijov, Composer
David Krakauer, Bass clarinet David Krakauer, Clarinet David Krakauer, Basset horn Kronos Qt Osvaldo Golijov, Composer |
String Quartet No. 4 |
Sofia Gubaidulina, Composer
Kronos Qt Sofia Gubaidulina, Composer |
Mugam Sayagi |
Frangiz Ali-Zade, Composer
Frangiz Ali-Zade, Composer Kronos Qt |
String Quartet No. 2, 'Quasi una fantasia' |
Henryk Górecki, Composer
Henryk Górecki, Composer Kronos Qt |
Quartet No. 1 (Already it is dusk) |
Henryk Górecki, Composer
Henryk Górecki, Composer Kronos Qt |
Different Trains |
Steve Reich, Composer
Kronos Qt Steve Reich, Composer |
Black Angels: 13 Images from the Dark Lands (Image |
George (Henry) Crumb, Composer
George (Henry) Crumb, Composer Kronos Qt |
Cadenza on the Night Plain |
Terry Riley, Composer
Kronos Qt Terry Riley, Composer |
G Song |
Terry Riley, Composer
Kronos Qt Terry Riley, Composer |
Salome Dances for Peace, Movement: The Gift |
Terry Riley, Composer
Kronos Qt Terry Riley, Composer |
Salome Dances for Peace, Movement: Good Medicine |
Terry Riley, Composer
Kronos Qt Terry Riley, Composer |
String Quartet No. 2 |
Alfred Schnittke, Composer
Alfred Schnittke, Composer Kronos Qt |
Collected songs where every verse is filled with g |
Alfred Schnittke, Composer
Alfred Schnittke, Composer Kronos Qt |
String Quartet No. 11, 'Jaribu Dreaming' |
Peter Sculthorpe, Composer
Kronos Qt Peter Sculthorpe, Composer |
String Quartet No. 8 |
Peter Sculthorpe, Composer
Kronos Qt Peter Sculthorpe, Composer |
From Ubirr |
Peter Sculthorpe, Composer
Kronos Qt Mark Nolan, Didjeridu Michael Brosnan, Didjeridu Peter Sculthorpe, Composer |
Tragedy at the Opera |
P. Q. Pfan, Composer
Kronos Qt P. Q. Pfan, Composer |
String Quartet No. 1, 'White Man Sleeps' |
Kevin Volans, Composer
Kevin Volans, Composer Kronos Qt |
Author:
The Kronos Quartet has always known how to make audio theatre out of chamber music, what with its numerous commissions, imaginative programmes, innovative ‘Radio Kronos’, flexible playing style and an openness to world music that is particularly apparent in this majestic 25th anniversary collection. In fairness, one might additionally recall that the excellent Arditti Quartet is also on the eve of celebrating its quarter-century. They too have promoted the cause of new music (the 32-CD Auvidis Arditti Edition is every bit as impressive as Kronos’s work for Nonesuch), but as hard-line avant-gardists, they rarely interest the sort of casual ‘passing trade’ that Kronos attracts more or less as a matter of course. Kronos knows the meaning of quality, but also has the common touch.
Nonesuch offers us a generous helping of reissues, supplemented by around two hours’ worth of new material. So while Arvo Part’s Psalom and Fratres are already available on single Kronos programmes, Summa (which is among the most sensual of Part’s tintinnabulatory works) and the concise Missa Syllabica appear here for the first time. John Adams is represented by the up-tempo delights of
George Crumb’s terrifying Black Angels is a sort of anti-Vietnam War protest in sound that anticipates Schnittke in its juxtaposition of the old (in this case Schubert’s Death and the Maiden Quartet) and the new. Both Schnittke and Gorecki suggest profound inner conflicts laid bare, though the specific manners of their personal expression are highly contrasted: those who are rested by Gorecki’s ubiquitous Third Symphony (another Nonesuch hit, 4/93) should brace themselves for his chamber music.
Kronos back-pack across city, desert or plain, sighing deeply with Astor Piazzolla (on bandoneon) for his Five Tango Sensations and toughening up for his more aggressive
Nonesuch’s presentation is a minor work of art in itself and the documentation an informed easy read, though there is precious little to indicate what is – or what is not – a first release. You would be hard pressed to find a friendlier, or more attractive entree to the world of new music, but it would also be great to hear Kronos cue some older repertory masterpieces, works that – like those featured here – create their own very individual sound worlds. I think of Haydn’s Op. 76 No. 5, Beethoven’s Opp. 131, 132 and 135, Mozart’s K421, Mendelssohn’s Op. 13, Schubert’s Death and the Maiden or the quartets of Grieg, Sibelius and Kreisler. All have a candour that transcends specific eras and would work wonderfully well within mixed programmes. Maybe some time during the next 25 years.'
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