Kronos Quartet

Founded by violinist David Harrington in Seattle, where they gave their first performance in 1973, Kronos Quartet has exerted a massive impact on the presentation and repertoire of the classical string quartet. The ensemble relocated to San Francisco in 1979 and began commissioning new work, presenting adventurous adaptations of music well outside the classical canon, including arrangements of pieces by jazz pianists like Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans. The quartet’s primary aim has always been to celebrate modern composers, and their accounts of works such as George Crumb’s Black Angels and Henryk Górecki’s string quartets have achieved rare crossover success. Kronos have consistently embraced a wide range of global composers, including Osvaldo Golijov, Tan Dun, and Michael Gordon. The ensemble has also surveyed folk and pop traditions around the world, collaborating with vanguard pop artists like David Bowie, Björk, and Laurie Anderson in inventive arrangements that recognize the essence of what they’re interpreting while honoring the string quartet tradition. Kronos have profoundly erased hierarchies, putting the emphasis on the music itself, wherever it comes from.