Kronos Quartet, a San Francisco treat who have been reinventing the string quartet since 1973, will arrive at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs on Sunday, January 29th.
Featuring David Harrington (violin), John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (viola), and Paul Wiancko (cello), Kronos Quartet is one of the world’s most celebrated and influential ensembles, performing 1000s of concerts and releasing more than 70 recordings, while collaborating with composers and performers. The group has won over 40 awards, including three GRAMMY Awards, and the prestigious Polar Music, Avery Fisher, and Edison Klassiek Oeuvre Prizes.
Founding member David Harrington spoke to NYS Music recently, sharing insight into the group’s creation, how the early years continue to influence current projects, and how Pete Seeger influenced the band’s work.
Pete Mason: You are performing in a theatre in the round on January 29 at Universal Preservation Hall. When someone is seeing you for the first time, what do you hope their takeaways might be?
David Harrington: I hope the audience will feel like they’ve had a little adventure through the world of music as told by the members of Kronos, playing several recent pieces. The music of Nicole Lizée from Montreal brings sonic elements into the mix, and it’s got this darkness but it’s also fun. And a piece by Indonesian composer Maduswara – there’s nothing like Maduswara that I know of.
We will be ending the show with “Cadenza on the Night Plain” – one continuous 30 min piece, featuring incredibly beautiful interlocking rhythms and a solo for each member of group. You will notice Terry Relily is generous, and he gave us this beautiful work that is thrilling to play this in the round, as everyone has their own individual experience. We’re also playing “All Along the Watchtower” – if you could name one great cover version of any song, in the last 60 years or whatever, you’d have to say Hendrix doing “Watchtower” is just the most amazing reinvention of a song. We’re trying to take our audience through a lot of different sound worlds, so let’s go!
PM: Is the new release My Lai connected to your album 1990 album Black Angels?
DH: In my mind, yes. 1973 was when I first heard “Black Angels” (George Crumb’s 1970 composition) on the radio – and I formed Kronos a few weeks after hearing it, we had our first rehearsal on Sept 1, 1973. Playing “Black Angels” later that year felt like bringing a great deal of music together, chanting and shouting, playing crystal glasses and instrumental effects, it felt like it was so much together, as a response to the war in Vietnam. I was searching for that, and there it was.
40 years later, Jonathan Burger told me about Hugh Thompson, and he had an idea for an opera. I had heard of the My Lai massacre – 500 villagers dead in Vietnam – but I didn’t know the story of Thompson, and Jonathan wanted to make this an opera. With him knowing of Kronos and “Black Angels” and having been working with a Vietnamese instrumentalist, Burger learned from her and began writing this piece and it was recorded and released a few months ago.
PM: How did the music of Pete Seeger influence you?
DH: The music and voice of Pete Seeger are locked into my own life. I grew up hearing him and when we had kids, we played his music in the home. When we had grandkids, we played Seeger in the car and at home. My daughter, now a 3rd grade teacher, plays Seeger in her classroom. We played in her classroom once, and one of the teachers brought a guitar, as the kids have all learned “We Shall Overcome.” The other 3rd grade teacher noticed it was Seeger’s 99th birthday the next day. So in the classroom, we decided to make an album celebrating Seeger, and if it’s good enough for my kids, grandkids and these students, it’s good enough for an album.
Clarence Jones, a speech writer and friend to Martin Luther King, Jr. shared how the I Have a Dream speech came to be. We recorded his story, and he said “You know if Seeger were alive, I believe he’d be singing that song.” The album has songs Seeger was inspired by, songs from around the world, President Obama sang “Amazing Grace” on the album, one of the most amazing public events that any official has ever done. We recorded the “We Shall Overcome” track in the school with 100 kids, it was one of the most fun albums I could ever imagine going..
I still have Pete Seeger’s home number in my phone, and I never called him because what would I say to him?
PM: Any film scores on the horizon?
DH: The latest film Kronos scored is 1000 Thoughts. Sam Green directs and Kronos plays the score live as Sam takes the listener/viewer through the history of Kronos, with interviews with composers, one we have done live quite a bit.
PM: Do you have a favorite arrangement of music you are enjoying at the moment?
DH: I try to keep my ears open every day and I never know where it’s gonna pull me next. I just try to be ready, thats been my habit all these years, and I think I’m getting better at it – just getting ready. I heard a musician the other day, my friend told me about, Pura Fé, a singer/songwriter who plays guitar, and a member of the Tuscarora Indian Nation. I was just struck by it and thought it was amazing.
Revisit our July 2022 coverage of Kronos Quartet performing their live documentary, A Thousand Thoughts for the Celebrate Brooklyn! summer series.
Tickets for Kronos Quartet at UPH are available here.
January 29th Program
Peni Candra Rini (arr. Jacob Garchik) / Maduswara **
Aleksandra Vrebalov / My Desert, My Rose **
Mazz Swift / She Is A Story, Herself *
Nicole Lizée / ZonelyHearts *
INTERMISSION
Bob Dylan (arr. Jacob Garchik) / All Along the Watchtower (inspired by Jimi Hendrix) +
Abel Meeropol (arr. Jacob Garchik) / Strange Fruit (inspired by Billie Holiday) +
Terry Riley / Cadenza on the Night Plain *
Introduction
Cadenza: Violin I
Where Was Wisdom When We Went West?
Cadenza: Viola
March of the Old Timers Reefer Division
The Old Timers Throw a Spring Festival
Marching Off to More Serious Matters
Cadenza: Violin II
Tuning to Rolling Thunder
The Night Cry of Black Buffalo Woman
Cadenza: Cello
Gathering of the Spiral Clan
Captain Jack Has the Last Word
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