Kronos Quartet?

[Atlas Mugged]

Any other fans here? I was looking at their schedule (they're constantly on tour - worldwide) and they're playing at the Barbican Centre in London January 22, 2005. Sounds like a perfect excuse for a trip to England. They're in Prague next month - if only I'd known sooner.

[Arugula Latte]

1. I, too, love the K Quartet

and only regret that I've never seen them live. My wife and I played a couple of their scores from the wonderful "Pieces of Africa" CD at our wedding. Smart music from smart people. Of course, their version of "Purple Haze" is a classic!!

[NewHampshireDem]

2. Absolutely amazing ...

I was lucky enough to see them twice when I was in college. I was initially attracted after I saw their video for "Kashmir" on VH1. I thought, "Cool, a quartet that plays rock, too." I've been hooked ever since.

"Pieces of Africa" is my favorite CD of theirs ... probably the most "listenable." Their Phillip Glass is another I listen to regularly. Most of the rest I feel guilty putting on when I don't have the time to really, really listen.

Good to see another fan out there! :wave:

[Arugula Latte]

3. Yes, indeed the Quartet's Glass CD is incredible and by the way

I got the chance to see Phillip Glass and his orchestra perform live at NYC's Lincoln Center with a HUGE screen showing of "Koyannasqatsi"(spelling help! -- I'm pretty sure there's no "U" after the "Q"). It was one of my most memorable cultural experiences. Anybody else like that mid-80s movie?

[stopbush]

4. As a string quartet? No, there are other quartets that I enjoy

much more than the Kronos - the Quartetto Italiano, for one, the Julliard for another. There's the Guarneri and the now-disbanded Cleveland Quartet, not to mention the (IMO overrated) Emerson Quartet that put the Kronos pretty well in the shade. Even the Tokyo Quartet in their Peter Oundjian incarnation - who I heard at Carnegie Hall in Beethoven - was better.

The repertoire the Kronos specialize in isn't my cup of tea either. Abrasive and maybe a bit aggressive interpretively. For instance, I've heard Crumb's Black Angels live a couple of times and was fairly disappointed with the uni-dimensional approach the Kronos took on their WEA recording. Other groups seemed to find more nuance in the score than did the Kronos. But maybe they're more agreeable in public performance.

I don't mean to be Mr Negative, but here I am.

[Swamp Rat]

6. I'm with you "Mr Negative"

I've seen and heard much better groups, but Kronos does have an interesting crossover repertoire. Personally, I think the Guarneri Quartet is better, but I'm just a guitar player, what do I know. I also think the Emerson String Quartet is pretty good too... though I can't tell the difference between an Strad and an Amati... I guess I'll stick to plucked strings.

Glass's work, in general, is two measures of elevator music repeated ad infinitum, though this isn't the fault of Kronos Quartet. My friends played Crumb's Black Angels at LSU a few years ago where Crumb was sitting next to me in the audience. He said it was done the way he liked it performed, and added that it was better than some professional groups (no names mentioned). Their performance by far was better than Kronos, especially the part with the upsidedown instrument thingy... really cool!

[curse10]

5. Kronos is very good, I also love the Takacs Quartet

And the Emerson recording of the Shostakovitch quartets are brilliant

[Swamp Rat]

7. Oooo, Shostakovitch!

Mmm... tasty!

I sure miss his son Maxim. He used to be our conductor in New Orleans.

[NewHampshireDem]

8. Well, I guess the Romans had it right ...

De gustibus non est disputandum.

:shrug: