KRONOS IN THE VILLAGE

Although I am trying to make the rounds of venues in NYC, I was drawn back to (Le) Poisson Rouge for a concert given by the Kronos string quartet. I have greatly enjoyed their programs at Duke and looked forward to experiencing them in a smaller setting.   They actually performed on two evenings but I decided to attend the first as the group was performing with the New York Young People's Chorus for two of the selections.  The sound of the quartet was a bit rougher and not also always as confident as I had remembered (they are human beings!) but it was a fascinating program.

For me, one of  the most interesting parts of the program was Michael Gordon's Exalted, a setting of the first line of the Kaddish.  The demanding choral writing frequently required the youthful perfomers to sing imitatively at intervals of a second.  It was a piece of power and intensity.  Following this work were arrangements by Jacob Garchnik of three works. The continuously hushed tones of his arrangement of Laurie Anderson's Flow drew the audience in.

Although they have sometimes been criticized for overreaching and some lapses of artistic taste, Kronos changed the perception of the classical string quartet and have helped create a new body of work to extend the repertoire.  There programs are always something to look forward to.