Prom 14 (24.7.12): Kronos Quartet

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Tuesday 24 July at 10.00 p.m.
Royal Albert Hall

Omar Souleyman: I'll Prevent the Hunters from Hunting You (La sidounak sayyada) (arr. Jacob Garchik) (4 mins) - UK Premiere
Sofia Gubaidulina: String Quartet No. 4 (12 mins)
Ben Johnston: String Quartet No. 4, 'Amazing Grace' (11 mins)
Nicole Lizée: The Golden Age of the Radiophonic Workshop (Fibre-Optic Flowers) (c10 mins) - BBC Commission, World Premiere
Traditional: Tusen tankar (A Thousand Thoughts) transcr. Ljova, arr. Kronos Quartet (5 mins)
Aleksandra Vrebalov: … hold me, neighbour, in this storm … (22 mins)

Kronos Quartet

The Kronos Quartet makes its Proms debut with a typically eclectic Late Night programme which ranges from from Syrian folk-pop via Sofia Gubaidulina's Fourth Quartet to one based on 'Amazing Grace.'

For almost 40 years, the Kronos Quartet has been reinventing the string quartet, regularly turning it into a multimedia experience. The group's first Proms appearance begins with high-octance Syrian folk-pop and ends with a Kronos commission blending classical strings with ethnic Balkan instruments, shouts, foot-stomping, bells and electronic overdubs.

In between, varied fare from the group's eclectic repertoire plus a BBC commission inspired by the work of Delia Derbyshire of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop (responsible for the realisation of Ron Grainer's Doctor Who theme). Listen out, too, for the otherworldly Kronos arrangement of a Scandinavian folk lament.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Surely not even the hardest cynic could call this concert dull?

[Serial_Apologist]

Surely not even the hardest cynic could call this concert dull?

The only composer apart from Gubaidulina I've heard of there is Traditional!

[jayne lee wilson]

Huge fan of the Kronos! Their Nonesuch box, Kronos Quartet 25 Years, is never away from my CD players for long, an amazing range from Adams to Feldman, Gubaidulina to Kevin Volans. If you want something of really different appeal, try their "Pieces of Africa" album..

[Bryn]

Huge fan of the Kronos! Their Nonesuch box, Kronos Quartet 25 Years, is never away from my CD players for long, an amazing range from Adams to Feldman, Gubaidulina to Kevin Volans. If you want something of really different appeal, try their "Pieces of Africa" album..

Hmm. They have certainly done much in the way of commissioning new work and promoting a very wide range of new music. For that I applaud them unstintingly, but I tend to find their actual performances fall short. Feldman, for instance, wrote his SQ2 for them. Have they ever played it uncut? Not that I know of, and as for the travesty that is their version of Purple Haze! ...

I doubt I will make the effort to attend, but I will listen via the iPlayer.

[DracoM]

Yes, big fan of Kronos too. Never a dull moment. Looks promising.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Some extremely close miking here.