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Kronos Quartet

Overview
Available Recordings

Composers

Biography

Active: 1973 - ; United States

The Kronos Quartet has for years cultivated a chimeric image: is it a highbrow ensemble with pop leanings, or a crossover group with classical expertise? Yet whatever its methods and motivations may be, the Kronos Quartet has blurred musical categories for decades and attracted interest from audiences who might never have otherwise encountered a string quartet. Respected for its charisma and innovation, Kronos was founded at Mills College in 1973 Read more by violinist David Harrington. By the end of the 1970s, violinist John Sherba, violist Hank Dutt, and cellist Joan Jeanrenaud rounded out the group's original personnel. Since then, Kronos has aggressively commissioned new music, including over 450 of its repertory of 600 pieces. This unprecedented zeal for commissioning has been credited with reviving and revitalizing the otherwise stagnating medium of the string quartet.

The ensemble made a strong impression with guest appearances on recordings by Warren Benson, Dane Rudhyar, and David Grisman before cutting its own debut on the Sounds Wonderful label in 1982. Since then, Kronos has recorded over 30 albums for Nonesuch, receiving six Grammy nominations and one award for Best New Composition, (Different Trains by Steve Reich). Kronos specializes in performing modern and contemporary music, music by jazz pioneers Ornette Coleman and John Zorn, and artists as varied as Jimi Hendrix, Anton Webern, and Béla Bartók. The group has devoted entire albums to such diverse figures as Thelonious Monk (Monk Suite, 1985), Bill Evans (Music of Bill Evans, 1986), Alfred Schnittke (The Complete String Quartets, 1998), and Philip Glass (on several discs, including Dracula, 1999). For its recording of Black Angels (1990), the quartet provided spirited, effective accompaniment to a scratchy, decades-old recording of American iconoclast composer Charles Ives singing one of his own songs.

Kronos has been profiled on the television show CBS Sunday Morning, has produced its own syndicated radio program that combined interview and performance segments, and has been consistently nominated for Grammy awards.

In 1999 Jeanrenaud began a sabbatical leave, and before it was over she had resigned, no longer wishing to maintain Kronos' active travel, performance, and rehearsal schedule. Jeanrenaud was replaced by Jennifer Culp, who remained with the quartet until 2005, after which Jeffrey Zeigler joined as Kronos' cellist. Read less

Featured Kronos Quartet CDs & DVDs:

Golijov: The Dreams And Prayers Of Isaac The Blind / Kronos

Release Date: 03/18/1997 Label: Nonesuch
Catalog: 79444 Number of Discs: 1

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Henryk Górecki: String Quartet No 3 / Kronos Quartet

Release Date: 03/20/2007 Label: Nonesuch
Catalog: 104380 Number of Discs: 1

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Browse 1-25 of 62 Available Recordings

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1.

Essential Phillip Glass

Label: Sony Catalog: 191720 Release Date: 01/24/2012 Number of Discs: 3
Composer: Philip Glass
Performer: Janice Pendarvis, Yo-Yo Ma, Philip Glass, Douglas Perry ...
Conductor: Michael Riesman, Michael Reisman, Dennis Russell Davies, Robert Shaw ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Philip Glass Ensemble, Stuttgart State Opera Chorus, Stuttgart State Opera Orchestra ...

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2.

Music Of Vladimir Martynov / Kronos Quartet

Label: Nonesuch Catalog: 529776 Release Date: 01/10/2012 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Vladimir Martynov
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet
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3.

Uniko / Pohjonen, Kosminen, Kronos Quartet

Label: C Major Catalog: 707108 Release Date: 09/27/2011 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Kimmo Pohjonen
Performer: Kimmo Pohjonen, Samuli Kosminen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet

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4.

Steve Reich: WTC 9/11 / Kronos Quartet

Label: Nonesuch Catalog: 528236 Release Date: 09/20/2011 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Steve Reich
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet, So Percussion, Steve Reich and Musicians
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5.

John Anthony Lennon, Sheila Silver: String Quartets

Label: Composers Recordings, Inc. (Cri) Catalog: 520 Release Date: 07/01/2011 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: John Anthony Lennon, Sheila Silver
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet, Atlantic String Quartet

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6.

Music Of Warren Benson

Label: Composers Recordings, Inc. (Cri) Catalog: 433 Release Date: 03/01/2011 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Warren Benson
Performer: Frederick Hemke
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet, Chester String Quartet, Eastman Quartet

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7.

Uniko / Samuli Kosminen, Kimmo Pohjonen, Kronos Quartet

Label: Ondine Catalog: 1185-2 Release Date: 02/22/2011 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Kimmo Pohjonen
Performer: Kimmo Pohjonen, Samuli Kosminen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet
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8.

Floodplain / Kronos Quartet

Label: Nonesuch Catalog: 518349 Release Date: 05/19/2009 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Traditional, Anonymous, Ram Narayan, Said Rustamov ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet
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9.

Kronos Plays Holmgreen

Label: Dacapo Catalog: 6220548 Release Date: 10/28/2008 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Pel Gudmundsen-Holmgreen
Performer: David Harrington, Hank Dutt, John Sherba, Jeffrey Zeigler ...
Conductor: Thomas Dausgaard
Orchestra/Ensemble: Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Kronos Quartet
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10.

Glass Box - Philip Glass Nonesuch Retrospective

Label: Nonesuch Catalog: 424508 Release Date: 09/30/2008 Number of Discs: 10
Composer: Philip Glass
Performer: Lynne Wilhelm-Königer, Christina Wächtler, David Warrilow, Milagro Vargas ...
Conductor: Dennis Russell Davies, Nick Ingman, Michael Riesman, Martin Goldray ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Stuttgart State Opera Chorus, Stuttgart State Opera Orchestra, Bruckner Orchester Linz ...

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11.

Riley: The Cusp Of Magic / Wu Man, Kronos Quartet

Label: Nonesuch Catalog: 360508 Release Date: 02/05/2008 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Terry Riley
Performer: Wu Man
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet
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12.

Golijov: Oceana, Etc / Spano, Atlanta SO & Chorus

Label: Deutsche Grammophon Catalog: 000906902 Release Date: 07/10/2007 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Osvaldo Golijov
Performer: Luciana Souza, Jeffrey Zeigler, David Harrington, Hank Dutt ...
Conductor: Robert Spano
Orchestra/Ensemble: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Kronos Quartet, Gwinnettt Young Singers ...
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13.

Henryk Górecki: String Quartet No 3 / Kronos Quartet

Label: Nonesuch Catalog: 104380 Release Date: 03/20/2007 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Henryk Mikolaj Górecki
Performer: David Harrington, Hank Dutt, John Sherba, Jeffrey Zeigler
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet
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14.

Best Of Philip Glass

Label: Sony Catalog: 705119 Release Date: 02/20/2007 Number of Discs: 2
Composer: Philip Glass
Performer: Philip Glass, Paul Esswood, Douglas Perry, Linda Ronstadt ...
Conductor: Michael Riesman, Dennis Russell Davies, Christopher Keene, Robert Shaw
Orchestra/Ensemble: Philip Glass Ensemble, Stuttgart State Opera Orchestra, Stuttgart State Opera Chorus ...

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15.

Steve Reich - Phases (A Nonesuch Retrospective)

Label: Nonesuch Catalog: 79962 Release Date: 09/26/2006 Number of Discs: 5
Composer: Steve Reich
Performer: Jeanne LeBlanc, Phillip Bush, Elizabeth Lim, Jay Clayton ...
Conductor: Steve Reich, Reinbert De Leeuw, Bradley Lubman, Grant Gershon ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Steve Reich Ensemble, Kronos Quartet, The Hague Percussion Group ...

CD: $33.99
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16.

Lou Harrison: Chamber & Gamelan Works

Label: New World Records Catalog: 80643 Release Date: 05/30/2006 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Lou Harrison
Performer: Machiko Kobialka, Patricia Jennerjohn, Don Marconi, Jerome Neff ...
Conductor: Robert Hughes, Paul Price
Orchestra/Ensemble: Gamelan Sekar Kembar, Kronos Quartet, Manhattan Percussion Ensemble
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17.

Terry Riley: Cadenza On The Night Plain / Kronos Quartet

Label: Hannibal Catalog: 1509 Release Date: 01/31/2006 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Terry Riley
Performer: David Harrington, John Sherba, Hank Dutt, Joan Jeanrenaud
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet

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18.

You've Stolen My Heart / Kronos Quartet, Asha Bhosle

Label: Nonesuch Catalog: 79856 Release Date: 08/23/2005 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: R.D. Burman
Performer: Jennifer Culp, John Sherba, Hank Dutt, David Harrington ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet

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19.

Ali-azadeh: Mugam Sayagi / Kronos Quartet

Label: Nonesuch Catalog: 79804 Release Date: 01/11/2005 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Franguiz Ali-Zade
Performer: Franguiz Ali-Zade
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet
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20.

Saariaho: Du Cristal...a La Fume, Etc / Kronos Quartet

Label: Ondine Catalog: 1047 Release Date: 08/24/2004 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Kaija Saariaho
Performer: Petri Alanko
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet

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21.

Monk Suite - Kronos Quartet Plays Music Of Thelonious Monk

Label: Savoy Jazz Catalog: 17404 Release Date: 07/06/2004 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Thelonious Monk, Cootie Williams, Edward "Duke" Ellington
Performer: John Sherba, Hank Dutt, David Harrington, Joan Jeanrenaud ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet

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22.

Music Of Bill Evans / Kronos Quartet, Et Al

Label: Savoy Jazz Catalog: 17405 Release Date: 07/06/2004 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Bill Evans
Performer: Jim Hall, Joan Jeanrenaud, John Sherba, Hank Dutt ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet

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23.

Berg: Lyric Suite / Dawn Upshaw, Kronos Quartet

Label: Nonesuch Catalog: 79696 Release Date: 08/19/2003 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Alban Berg
Performer: Hank Dutt, David Harrington, John Sherba, Dawn Upshaw ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet

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24.

Partch: U.s. Highball / David Barron, Kronos Quartet

Label: Nonesuch Catalog: 79697 Release Date: 08/19/2003 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Harry Partch
Performer: Hank Dutt, David Barron, David Harrington, John Sherba ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet

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25.

Vasks: String Quartet No 4 / Kronos Quartet

Label: Nonesuch Catalog: 79695 Release Date: 08/19/2003 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Peteris Vasks
Performer: Jennifer Culp, David Harrington, Hank Dutt, John Sherba
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet

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