{"id":19349,"date":"2014-06-26T21:08:53","date_gmt":"2014-06-27T01:08:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=19349"},"modified":"2014-07-10T21:45:07","modified_gmt":"2014-07-11T01:45:07","slug":"kronos-at-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=19349","title":{"rendered":"Kronos at 40"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\"Kronos\"<\/a><\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

A Thousand Thoughts<\/p>\n

Kronos Quartet<\/p>\n

Nonesuch CD<\/p>\n

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Kronos Explorer Series<\/p>\n

Kronos Quartet<\/p>\n

Nonesuch CD Boxed Set<\/p>\n

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To celebrate their fortieth year of activities, Kronos Quartet has two releases on the Nonesuch imprint. The first, A Thousand Thoughts<\/em>, is a single CD compilation of previously unreleased and newly recorded tracks. All of the group\u2019s cellists from throughout its history – \u00a0Joan Jeanrenaud, Jennifer Culp, Jeffrey Zeigler, and Sunny Yang – appear on the disc, as do a host of guest artists. The music is abundantly varied, including everything from a new piece by minimalist composer Terry Riley to arrangements of Asian folk music to a rousing rendition of \u201cDanny Boy.\u201d Thus, A Thousand Thoughts does an excellent job demonstrating Kronos Quartet\u2019s versatility and catholicity of taste.<\/p>\n

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The Explorer Series boxed set goes deep into Kronos\u2019s back catalog, reissuing five albums that helped to put the group, and their arranging aesthetics, on the map: Pieces of Africa<\/em> (1992), Night Prayers <\/em>(1994), Caravan<\/em> (2000), Nuevo <\/em>(2002), and Floodplain<\/em> (2009). Taken as a collective listening project they help one to realize how formidable and far reaching Kronos\u2019s influence has been. Today, many classical labels consider the incorporation of music from a number of ethnicities on their releases to be smart marketing. Composers of concert music feel liberated to explore their roots – or the music of other places and cultures. While many performers have advocated for classical music to be more inclusive in this way, the releases contained in the Explorer Series box helped by example to make it more possible. Forty years into the Kronos Quartet project, there\u2019s a lot worth celebrating.<\/p>\n