Kronos Explorer Series

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Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Kronos Quartet and its artistic director/founding violinist David Harrington have long been known as interpreters of music from around the world, expanding the string quartet repertoire with works from across genres. Released in honor of the group's 40th anniversary year, Kronos Explorer Series comprises five classic albums from five different parts of the world—Pieces of Africa, Night Prayers, Caravan, Nuevo, and Floodplain—with new liner notes that include an in-depth interview of Harrington by renowned author Jonathan Cott. The Independent calls the set "extraordinary."

Description

Kronos Quartet and its artistic director/founding violinist David Harrington have long been known as interpreters of music from around the world, expanding the string quartet repertoire with works from across genres. Nonesuch, the Quartet’s longtime label, celebrates this remarkable curiosity in the group’s 40th anniversary year with two releases: the Kronos Explorer Series five-CD box set and a new album, A Thousand Thoughts, both of which were released on April 8, 2014 (internationally on April 21). 

Kronos Explorer Series comprises five classic albums from five different parts of the world—Pieces of Africa, Night Prayers, Caravan, Nuevo, and Floodplain—with new liner notes that include an in-depth interview of Harrington by renowned author Jonathan Cott. Pieces of Africa (1992), Kronos’s first record of African music, developed over eight years, during which Kronos commissioned/performed with some of the continent’s greatest musicians, including Zimbabwe’s Dumisani Maraire, Nubian Hamza el Din, and Gambia’s Foday Musa Suso. Works with roots in Ghana, Morocco, South Africa, and Uganda also are included. Night Prayers (1994) contains seven works by vastly different artists, geographically all from within the former Soviet Union, including Huun-Huur-Tu from Tuva, Armenian duduk master Djivan Gasparian, and Sofia Gubaidulina from the former Tatar republic. The compositions on Caravan (2000) come from many compass points—Iraq, California, South America—but all have roots in other places, starting with the territory that links northeastern Europe with the Mediterranean and the Orient; composer Osvaldo Golijov arranged the pieces. For Nuevo (2002), the Quartet embraced Mexican genres from rock to mariachi, with music from the heart of regional Mexico, including street performers, religious festival celebrants, and a duet with a leaf player. And on Floodplain (2009), ancient songs from the wellspring of the Fertile Crescent mingle with new music from low-lying areas in Central Asia, North Africa, and Eastern Europe, performed on centuries-old harps, electric sitar, and instruments built for Kronos.

For 40 years, the Kronos Quartet—David Harrington, John Sherba (violins), Hank Dutt (viola), and Sunny Yang (cello)—has pursued a singular artistic vision, combining a spirit of exploration with a commitment to continually re-imagining the string quartet experience. In the process, Kronos has become one of the most celebrated and influential groups of our time, performing thousands of concerts worldwide, releasing more than 50 recordings, collaborating with many of the world’s most accomplished composers and performers, and commissioning more than 800 works and arrangements for string quartet. In 2011, Kronos became the only recipients of both the Polar Music Prize and the Avery Fisher Prize, two of the most prestigious awards given to musicians. The group’s numerous awards also include a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance (2004) and Musicians of the Year (2003) from Musical America.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
For additional musician and production credits:
Disc 1, Pieces of Africa, click here.
Disc 2, Night Prayers, click here.
Disc 3, Caravan, click here.
Disc 4, Nuevo, click here.
Disc 5, Floodplain, click here.

Nonesuch Selection Number

536951

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
Album Status
Artist Name
Kronos Quartet
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Kronos Quartet:
David Harrington, violin (discs 1–5); shruti box, solo violin, duo dunia, gusle (disc 5)
John Sherba, violin (discs 1–5); solo violin, duo dunia, tapan (disc 5)
Hank Dutt, viola (discs 1–5); solo viola, tambourine, kina cha viola (disc 5)
Joan Jeanrenaud, cello (discs 1, 2)
Jennifer Culp, cello (disc 3, 4)
Jeffrey Zeigler, cello, solo cello, beguèna maridhia (disc 5)

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
MP3
Price
29.00
UPC
075597955187
Label
FLAC
Price
34.00
UPC
075597949667
Label
5CD+MP3 Set
UPC
075597955149
  • 536951

Track Listing

News & Reviews

  • Following Kronos Quartet’s historic 50th-anniversary season, longtime members John Sherba (violin) and Hank Dutt (viola) will retire from the ensemble at the end of June. Dutt joined Kronos in 1977; he and founder David Harrington (violin) recruited Sherba to join the group in 1978. Between now and the end of June, Sherba and Dutt will perform more than 20 shows with Harrington and cellist Paul Wiancko, who joined the quartet in 2023, culminating at the ninth annual Kronos Festival at the SFJAZZ Center. Kronos will enter its sixth decade with two new members: violinist Gabriela Díaz and violist Ayane Kozasa will join Harrington and Wiancko.

  • As part of Kronos: Five Decades, the year-long celebration of Kronos Quartet’s 50th anniversary, the group is publishing five decade-spanning playlists curated by its founder and violinist David Harrington. The fifth and final playlist, featuring music Kronos performed in its fifth decade, 2013–2022, is out now. It includes music from their album A Thousand Thoughts; Folk Songs, with vocals by Sam Amidon, Olivia Chaney, Natalie Merchant, and Rhiannon Giddens; their Grammy-winning collaboration with Laurie Anderson, Landfall; and Terry Riley's Sun Rings. You can hear it here.

  • About This Album

    Kronos Quartet and its artistic director/founding violinist David Harrington have long been known as interpreters of music from around the world, expanding the string quartet repertoire with works from across genres. Nonesuch, the Quartet’s longtime label, celebrates this remarkable curiosity in the group’s 40th anniversary year with two releases: the Kronos Explorer Series five-CD box set and a new album, A Thousand Thoughts, both of which were released on April 8, 2014 (internationally on April 21). 

    Kronos Explorer Series comprises five classic albums from five different parts of the world—Pieces of Africa, Night Prayers, Caravan, Nuevo, and Floodplain—with new liner notes that include an in-depth interview of Harrington by renowned author Jonathan Cott. Pieces of Africa (1992), Kronos’s first record of African music, developed over eight years, during which Kronos commissioned/performed with some of the continent’s greatest musicians, including Zimbabwe’s Dumisani Maraire, Nubian Hamza el Din, and Gambia’s Foday Musa Suso. Works with roots in Ghana, Morocco, South Africa, and Uganda also are included. Night Prayers (1994) contains seven works by vastly different artists, geographically all from within the former Soviet Union, including Huun-Huur-Tu from Tuva, Armenian duduk master Djivan Gasparian, and Sofia Gubaidulina from the former Tatar republic. The compositions on Caravan (2000) come from many compass points—Iraq, California, South America—but all have roots in other places, starting with the territory that links northeastern Europe with the Mediterranean and the Orient; composer Osvaldo Golijov arranged the pieces. For Nuevo (2002), the Quartet embraced Mexican genres from rock to mariachi, with music from the heart of regional Mexico, including street performers, religious festival celebrants, and a duet with a leaf player. And on Floodplain (2009), ancient songs from the wellspring of the Fertile Crescent mingle with new music from low-lying areas in Central Asia, North Africa, and Eastern Europe, performed on centuries-old harps, electric sitar, and instruments built for Kronos.

    For 40 years, the Kronos Quartet—David Harrington, John Sherba (violins), Hank Dutt (viola), and Sunny Yang (cello)—has pursued a singular artistic vision, combining a spirit of exploration with a commitment to continually re-imagining the string quartet experience. In the process, Kronos has become one of the most celebrated and influential groups of our time, performing thousands of concerts worldwide, releasing more than 50 recordings, collaborating with many of the world’s most accomplished composers and performers, and commissioning more than 800 works and arrangements for string quartet. In 2011, Kronos became the only recipients of both the Polar Music Prize and the Avery Fisher Prize, two of the most prestigious awards given to musicians. The group’s numerous awards also include a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance (2004) and Musicians of the Year (2003) from Musical America.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Kronos Quartet:
    David Harrington, violin (discs 1–5); shruti box, solo violin, duo dunia, gusle (disc 5)
    John Sherba, violin (discs 1–5); solo violin, duo dunia, tapan (disc 5)
    Hank Dutt, viola (discs 1–5); solo viola, tambourine, kina cha viola (disc 5)
    Joan Jeanrenaud, cello (discs 1, 2)
    Jennifer Culp, cello (disc 3, 4)
    Jeffrey Zeigler, cello, solo cello, beguèna maridhia (disc 5)

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    For additional musician and production credits:
    Disc 1, Pieces of Africa, click here.
    Disc 2, Night Prayers, click here.
    Disc 3, Caravan, click here.
    Disc 4, Nuevo, click here.
    Disc 5, Floodplain, click here.

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