Courtesy photo.
The boundary-defying quartet returns to Santa Barbara and celebrates their 50 year anniversary
SUMMARY
- Sat, April 27 | 8 p.m. | Campbell Hall
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- The acclaimed quartet will perform a program of new commissions, signature works and pieces from its Fifty for the Future project
- Master Class with Kronos Quartet and UCSB students on Saturday, April 27 at 10 a.m. in UCSB Lotte Lehman Hall FREE and open to the public
- $50 / $30 / $10 UCSB students (Current student ID required)
- Tickets & Info: www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu
“The most far-ranging ensemble geographically, nationally and stylistically the world has ever known.” Los Angeles Times
SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Kronos Quartet | Five Decades on Wednesday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Campbell Hall. For 50 years, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet has challenged and reimagined what a string quartet can be, centering its work around the key issues of our time. Kronos has commissioned, performed and recorded works that engage with topics such as war and destruction, the climate crisis, social injustice and spirituality. Now, the multi-Grammy Award-winning quartet marks its anniversary with a program of new commissions, signature works from its vast repertoire and pieces from its Fifty for the Future project.
In addition, there will be a Master Class with Kronos Quartet and UCSB students on Saturday, April 27 at 10 a.m. in UCSB Lotte Lehman Hall. The Master Class is FREE and open to the public.
David Harrington, violin
John Sherba, violin
Hank Dutt, viola
Paul Wiancko, cello
Joey Guthman, Lighting Supervisor
Scott Fraser, Sound Designer
Program
Sam Green: KRONOS at FIFTY *
Trey Spruance: The Black Art Book of St. Cyprian the Mage: V. Bruxa de Evora *
Peni Candra Rini (arr. Jacob Garchik & Andy McGraw): Segara Gunung: Movement I *
Jlin (arr. Jacob Garchik): Little Black Book **
Zachary James Watkins: Peace Be Till *
featuring the recorded voice of Dr. Clarence B. Jones
Aleksandra Vrebalov: Gold Came From Space *
– Intermission –
Sun Ra, Terry Riley & Sara Miyamoto (arr. Paul Wiancko): Kiss Yo’ Ass Goodbye *
John Oswald: Excerpt from Spectre *
Nicole Lizée: ZonelyHearts *
Opening Credits
Part I
Part II
PhoneTap + CCTV
Static Interference
Program Subject To Change
* Written for Kronos
** Written for Kronos Fifty for the Future
“Meet Kronos Quartet,” directed by Sam Green (Kronos Quartet)
ABOUT KRONOS QUARTET
For 50 years, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet – David Harrington (violin), John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (viola), and Paul Wiancko (cello) – has challenged and reimagined what a string quartet can be. Founded at a time when the form was largely centered on long-established, Western European traditions, Kronos has been at the forefront of revolutionizing the string quartet into a living art form that responds to the people and issues of our time.
In the process, Kronos has become one of the most celebrated and influential groups of our era, performing thousands of concerts worldwide, releasing more than 70 recordings of extraordinary breadth and creativity and collaborating with many of the world’s most accomplished composers and performers. Through its nonprofit organization, Kronos Performing Arts Association (KPAA), Kronos has commissioned more than 1,000 works and arrangements for string quartet – including the recently completed 50 for the Future library of free, educational repertoire. Kronos has received more than 40 awards, including three Grammy Awards and the Polar Music, Avery Fisher and Edison Klassiek Oeuvre Prizes – among the most prestigious awards given to musicians.
Kronos’ adventurous approach dates back to the ensemble’s origins. In 1973, David Harrington formed the group after hearing George Crumb’s Black Angels, an innovative, Vietnam War–inspired work featuring bowed water glasses, spoken-word passages and electronic effects. In addition to this formative work, Kronos began building its own eclectic repertoire for string quartet, performing and recording compositions by 20th-century masters (Sofia Gubaidulina, Astor Piazzolla, Alfred Schnittke), contemporary composers from around the world (Sahba Aminikia, Nicole Lizée, Vladimir Martynov, Aleksandra Vrebalov), jazz legends (Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Maria Schneider), rock artists (Jimi Hendrix, Sigur Rós, Pete Townshend) and artists who defy genre (Laurie Anderson, Trevor Paglen, Tanya Tagaq). Integral to Kronos’ work is a series of long-running, in-depth collaborations with many of the world’s foremost composers, resulting in a vast body of Kronos-commissioned works for string quartet. One of the quartet’s most long-standing and frequent collaborators is Terry Riley, whose work with Kronos includes Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector (1980), Salome Dances for Peace (1985–86) and Sun Rings (2002). Aleksandra Vrebalov has written more than 20 pieces for Kronos, including Pannonia Boundless (1998); …hold me, neighbor, in this storm… (2007) and Beyond Zero (2014), a multimedia meditation on World War I in collaboration with filmmaker Bill Morrison. The quartet has also collaborated extensively with Philip Glass, recording an album of his string quartets in 1995 and premiering String Quartets No. 6 (2013) and No. 7 (2014); with Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, whose works are featured on the full-length 2005 release Mugam Sayagi and with Steve Reich, whose string quartets Different Trains (1989), Triple Quartet (2001) and WTC 9/11 (2011) were written for and recorded by Kronos.
In its most ambitious commissioning effort to date, KPAA has recently completed a monumental education project that will be a cornerstone of Kronos’ ongoing legacy: 50 for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire. Through this initiative, Kronos has commissioned – and distributed online for free – 50 new works for string quartet designed expressly for the training of students and emerging professionals, written by composers from around the world. Although the library of compositions is now complete, 50 for the Future continues to grow, with tens of thousands of scores downloaded in more than 100 countries and territories around the globe. Lead partner Carnegie Hall and an adventurous group that includes presenters, academic institutions, foundations and individuals have joined forces with Kronos to support this program.
The quartet is committed to mentoring emerging performers and composers and has led workshops, master classes and other education programs with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (New York), Kaufman Music Center’s Face the Music (New York), Luna Composition Lab (New York), the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto), Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts and San Francisco Conservatory of Music, among other institutions in the U.S. and abroad. Kronos has undertaken extended educational residencies at institutions such as Oakland School for the Arts, UC Berkeley’s Cal Performances, Holland Festival, The John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University and New York University Abu Dhabi.
Based in San Francisco, the nonprofit KPAA staff manages all aspects of Kronos’ work, including commissioning, concert tours and local performances, recordings, education programs and an annual self-produced Kronos Festival in San Francisco.
ABOUT UCSB ARTS & LECTURES
Founded in 1959, UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) is the largest and most influential arts and lectures organization between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A&L annually presents more than a hundred public events, from critically acclaimed concerts and dance performances by world-renowned artists to talks by groundbreaking authors and film series at UCSB and Santa Barbara-area venues. With a mission to “educate, entertain and inspire,” A&L also oversees an outreach program that brings visiting artists and speakers into local classrooms and other venues for master classes, open rehearsals, discussions and more, serving K-12 students, college students and the general public.
Kronos Quartet is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures in association with UCSB Department of Music
Special Thanks: KCSB
Tickets are $50 / $30 / $10 UCSB students (Current student ID required)
For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or purchase online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.
UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges our Community Partners the Natalie Orfalea Foundation & Lou Buglioli for their generous support of the 2023-2024 season.