Photo by Jay Blakesberg
A feature in The New York Times in advance of the Kronos Quartet's 40th anniversary concert at Carnegie Hall on Friday says the ensemble "has revolutionized the approach to string quartet repertory, performing experimental, jazz and tango (among other genres) and working with a broad range of musicians from disparate cultures."
In advance of the concert, the Kronos is working with the Pannonia string ensemble, a member of the Face the Music program, in which young players are coached in scores written by living composers.
Kronos has added some 800 new works and arrangements to the repertory, some of which will be performed at the anniversary concert, including Aleksandra Vrebalov's Bubbles (with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus), Bryce Dessner's Aheym (with guitarist Bryce Dessner), Geeshie Wiley's Last Kind Words and Omar Souleyman's La Sidounak Sayyada ((both arranged by Jacob Garchik), the world premiere of Terry Riley's The Serquent Risadome, and a great deal more, by Severiano Briseño, Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, Jherek Bischoff, and Clint Mansell.