The 2013 Lincoln Center Out of Doors festival gets under way today, and featured among the festival's 100 free performances taking place across the plazas of New York's Lincoln Center this summer are the events of Kronos at 40, curated in collaboration with Kronos Quartet to mark its 40th anniversary. This "festival within a festival" unfolds during the first five days of the larger festival, which runs through August 11. See below for the complete list of Kronos at 40 performances.

This summer, Lincoln Center Out of Doors joins Kronos Quartet in an unprecedented, extended collaboration during the opening week of the festival to mark the start of the quartet’s 40th anniversary season. Kronos at 40 features a five-day residency by Kronos, and co-curated programs by Lincoln Center Director of Public Programming Bill Bragin and Kronos Quartet founder and Artistic Director David Harrington that reflects the innovation and global breadth of the quartet’s storied career. Watch a video interview with Harrington from Lincoln Center below.

Twenty-eight concerts and events, twelve premieres, and five Lincoln Center commissions and co-commissions will take place, with daily appearances by Kronos, on its own and with special guests. It all begins this evening with three world premieres: Mark Dendy Dance & Theater Projects' Ritual Cyclical, set to classic recordings by Kronos, at 6 PM in Lincoln Center's Hearst Plaza, followed by music from the Oscar-nominated documentary How to Survive a Plague and a performance from Red Hot + FELA LIVE! with Tony Allen and Superhuman Happiness heading an all-star line-up, at Damrosch Park Bandshell. Fans around the world can watch tonight's festival-opening concert streaming live starting at 7:30 PM EST at the brand-new lincolncenter.org/watch.

Kronos at 40 performances continue through Sunday featuring Mariana Sadovska, Magda Giannikou, Dan Deacon, Jherek Bischoff, My Brightest Diamond, Emily Wells, Found Sound Nation, The Gloaming, Elena Moon Park, Dan Zanes, OzoKidz/Ozomatli, Jacob Garchik’s The Heavens, Asphalt Orchestra, and more.

The quartet’s Kronos at 40 appearances mark the first time Kronos will perform in New York with its new cellist Sunny Jungin Yang, who joins long-time members David Harrington, violinist John Sherba and violist Hank Dutt.

“One of the ideas at the heart of Lincoln Center Out of Doors is creating a space where a multiplicity of cultures, ideas and expressions are shared and celebrated, reflecting the world in which we live," says Bragin. "We like to blur the boundaries between so-called 'high' and 'popular' arts from a variety of genres and traditions, building community and bringing audiences of diverse backgrounds and tastes together. With Kronos Quartet, we are lucky to collaborate with kindred spirits who are equally committed to creating revelatory and celebratory experiences with artists of the highest caliber."

"Kronos at 40 is an amazing opportunity for us to share where our work is now and where it’s heading in the future," says Harrington. "The week will include music from many corners of the landscape. New relationships are being forged and longtime friendships are being deepened. We have never had a time like this where so many aspects of our work are naturally coming together. I've been waiting for this kind of a week for the last 40 years! Thanks to Bill Bragin and Lincoln Center Out of Doors for the chance to begin our anniversary season by actualizing a musical panorama that I have long dreamed of."

In a companion exhibition, the New York Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, Plaza Corridor Gallery, presents For the Record: The World of Kronos on Nonesuch Records, which opened late last month and runs through August, featuring original Kronos album cover artwork, composers’ manuscript materials, international awards, Kronos listening stations, and more.

Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Kronos at 40

 For additional details and the complete Lincoln Center Out of Doors schedule, visit lcoutofdoors.org.