Kronos Quartet

Formed by violinist David Harrington, the Kronos Quartet has been revolutionizing the string quartet repertoire for fifty years. A unique artistic adventure whose imprint extends beyond the musical field, and a major event in the AO season.

With over 1,000 commissioned works and arrangements to its credit, the quartet interprets the great composers of the 20th and 21st centuries with the same exacting standards, as well as the music of jazz and rock legends, unclassifiable personalities and musicians from every continent. Based in San Francisco, Kronos is particularly inseparable from the names of Terry Riley, Philip Glass and Steve Reich: their artistic companionship led to the writing of masterpieces of the American repetitive repertoire.
This anniversary concert echoes the history of Kronos as much as its future. Glass rubs shoulders with Reich with his WTC 9/11, an evocation of September 11, 2001, combining live quartet and recorded archives. The program also features no less than five female composers from diverse horizons: New York icon Laurie Anderson, Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo, fascinating Canadian Nicole Lizée, Indonesian singer Peni Candra Rini and young American electro producer Jlin. A program that perfectly embodies the innovative vision of Kronos: between reference pieces, openness to the world and the creators of tomorrow. Happy birthday Kronos!

Works by Angélique Kidjo, Jlin, Philip Glass and Peni Candra Rini were composed for "Fifty for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire".