Kronos Quartet - Winter Was Hard (1988)

At the time of this release, Kronos Quartet were the new champions of new music, performing pieces written only in the preceding 100 years. I no longer follow the group so I'm not sure if they still do that. They are, however, responsible for over 750 new works and 43 studio albums. This was the group's 7th release and is a hodge-podge of contemporary pieces written in the years 1936 - 1988. I purchased this CD to hear Barber's Adagio played in its original string quartet instrumentation (originally the second movement to his String Quartet, Op.11, Barber later arranged it for full orchestra and retitled it Adagio For Strings.) This doesn't get much playing time, but occasionally I'll pull it out to hear the Adagio.

Tracks:  There are ten pieces presented here; I enjoy the following:

• Half-Wolf Dances Mad in Moonlight (1985, Terry Riley)
• Fratres (1977, Arvo Pärt)
• Bella By Barlight (1984-85, John Lurie)
• Adagio (1936, Samuel Barber)
• A Door Is Ajar (1988, Traditional)

There's also an interesting piece by John Zorn titled Forbidden Fruit which, in addition to the string quartet, uses turntables and a soft female voice. I like the idea of using the turntable, but the fascination soon passes amidst the noise of this aleatoric piece.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I saw the group on tour in support of this release at McAllister Auditorium on the campus of San Antonio College. The group was brought to San Antonio by the now defunct San Antonio Performing Arts Association. I also had a small, framed poster of the album cover which I proudly displayed for a while, mistakenly thinking it upped my hipness quotient.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Kronos Quartet Performs Philip Glass (1995)
Five Tango Sensations (1991)
Different Trains, Electric Counterpoint (1989)

Kronos Quartet Performs Philip Glass (1995)

Every now and then, I hear a little of Glass' minimalist music and think I should listen to more of it. This kind of thinking usually leads to the purchase of CDs such as this. Kronos Quartet's performance is flawless, as always, but these 4 string quartets aren't for me. Makes me sleepy. Cool album cover, though (The Four Corners, 1985 by Francesco Clemente).

Tracks: Best quartet: #3 "Mishima" (1985). Least favorite quartet: #5 (1991).

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Falling asleep on my futon the first time I listened to this CD.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Five Tango Sensations (1991)
Different Trains, Electric Counterpoint (1989)

Steve Reich - Different Trains, Electric Counterpoint (1989)

Performed here by Kronos Quartet, Different Trains is such a complex piece that I can't begin to properly explain it. Here are the composer's liner notes:

This piece is so intense and moving, I can't listen to it very often.

Electric Counterpoint is an interesting piece in which Pat Metheny plays against pre-recorded tapes of himself producing a thick canonic texture.

Tracks:
Different Trains (1988) performed by Kronos Quartet

• America - Before the war (8:59)
• Europe - During the war (7:31)
• After the war (10:20)

Electric Counterpoint (1987) performed by Pat Metheny

• Fast (6:51)
• Slow (3:21)
• Fast (4:29)

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I heard the Kronos Quartet perform Different Trains live not long after I graduated from college. It was preceded by a long explanation by one of the members of the quartet. That performance led to the purchase of this CD and increased my interest in minimalist music. I regret that I haven't kept up with modern music composition as much as I should.

Kronos Quartet with Astor Piazzolla - Five Tango Sensations (1991)

My wife was watching Dancing with the Stars and evidently it's tango week. Hearing a bandoneon (look it up) on that show reminded me of this CD, which I haven't listened to in a looooong time. Even though it is a Kronos Quartet release, it is Piazzolla who is the composer as well as the performing star, while Kronos delivers a strong accompaniment to his bandoneon playing. The entire piece clocks in at 29:46, making it a candidate for the shortest CD in my collection.

Tracks: the five sensations are, in order, Asleep, Loving, Anxiety, Despertar, and Fear. Loving is hauntingly slow and beautiful. Anxiety is just agitating enough to earn its title. My favorite movement is Fear which has some great counterpoint and variations as Piazzolla adds layer after layer of texture.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I was introduced to this release by my friend Richard, a fan of the Kronos Quartet. He and I saw the quartet perform at the Wortham Center in Houston in 1992, not long after this CD was released. Front row seats! Unfortunately, I don't remember if they performed any of this work.