Kronos Quartet
Glorious Mahalia
Midway through Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic speech at the 1963 March on Washington, a voice rang out from behind him: “Tell them about the dream, Martin!” That voice belonged to Mahalia Jackson, King’s close friend and one of the most revered gospel singers of the 20th century. Glorious Mahalia, a visionary tribute to Jackson’s life by the internationally renowned Kronos Quartet, uses that moment as a springboard to explore the depth of Jackson’s musical craft and its impact on the Civil Ri…
Black Angels
On Black Angels, Kronos Quartet turns George Crumb’s Vietnam-era nightmare into the axis of a stark, haunted program, binding early music, American modernism and Shostakovich’s war-torn melancholy into one of the group’s darkest, most enduring statements.
Kronos Quartet Performs Philip Glass
On Kronos Quartet Performs Philip Glass, Kronos Quartet turns four string quartets into a self‑portrait of the composer, charting his path from theatre and film scores to music written directly for the group, all in a language of pulsed clarity and slowly deepening harmony.
Pieces Of Africa
Laurie Anderson and Kronos Quartet's Landfall, inspired by her experience of Hurricane Sandy, is the first collaboration between the iconic storyteller/musician and the groundbreaking string quartet, who perform together on the recording. Landfall juxtaposes lush electronics and traditional strings by Kronos with Anderson\'s powerful descriptions of loss, from water-logged pianos to disappearing animal species to Dutch karaoke bars. The Washington Post calls it "riveting, gorgeous."
Landfall
Laurie Anderson and Kronos Quartet's Landfall, inspired by her experience of Hurricane Sandy, is the first collaboration between the iconic storyteller/musician and the groundbreaking string quartet, who perform together on the recording. Landfall juxtaposes lush electronics and traditional strings by Kronos with Anderson\'s powerful descriptions of loss, from water-logged pianos to disappearing animal species to Dutch karaoke bars. The Washington Post calls it "riveting, gorgeous."
All The Rage
"All the Rage" was developed from a recording I made of a riot in San Francisco in October 1991, which followed California Governor Pete Wilson's veto of a bill designed to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination. Bob Ostertag's "All the Rage" turned the evening on its head with a devastating roar of gay anger. Of recent concert pieces having to do with AIDS, "All the Rage" seems by far the most powerful example. Mr. Ostertag's stern, purifying gaze has swept away the sentimentality and me…