Mail to:
webstaff@arttowermito.or.jp
For reservations: 029-231-8000 (9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., closed on Mondays)
New Musical Utopia in the Kronos Style
KRONOS QUARTET
http://www.kronosquartet.org/
The world has finally caught up with Kronos.
In the past, the arts and values that were fostered in Western Europe used to be considered the top authority in the world.
Now, however, we know that it is impossible to assign a ranking of superiority or inferiority to the ways that things are done by people living in different regions around the world.
No matter where people are born, they burn up life's energy to the fullest amidst the environment they are bestowed with.
That's why the Kronos Quartet considers all the music existing in the world as valid performance material.
Moreover, the group keeps searching for music that embraces the vibrancy of life.
Naturally, the division of music into several genres -- classic, modern music, rock, jazz, world music, etc. -- means nothing to them.
Take, for example, Michael Gordon's minimal-intense "Potassium," which fuses the shockingness of rock with a formal idiom.
Or Terry Riley's "Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector," which combines the concept of a "dream collector" with the Raga modality of northern India.
And you have the piece, "Myself When I am Real," by Charles Mingus, a composer who is also known for his bass continuoso in the lively jazz album "Pithecanthropus Erectus," along with the likes of Charlie Parker and Miles Davis.
Kronos also presents to us the suite composed by Clint Mansell (arr. David Lang) from the soundtrack for "Requiem for a Dream,"
a film (slated to run in Japanese theaters this summer) by that versatile director, Darren Aronofsky.
In addition, we hear a transcription by Stephen Prutsman of "Sensemaya" by the Mexican composer, Silvestre Revueltas,
a piece inspired by the Afro-Cuban snake-hunting ceremony for driving out devils.
And they even present several works by the young Vietnamese-American composer, P.Q. Phan, who fuses elements of traditional Vietnamese opera with those of Western opera.
Finally, they close their ATM concert with two pieces, the first being their arrangement of "Pari Intervallo" by the Estonian-born composer, Arvo Part, who has created his own unique style after researching such things as hymn monodies, the medieval Notre Dame school, and the bell music of Russian churches.
The very last piece Kronos performs is Steve Reich's Triple Quartet, which combines the pre-recorded music of two string quartets, played through the PA system, with the live performance of the four members of the quartet on stage.
Those of us lucky enough to be in the audience on the night of July 1 will surely be led by the Kronos Quartet on a trip toward a musical utopia.
KRONOS QUARTET
David Harrington, violin
John Sherba, violin
Hank Dutt, viola
Jennifer Culp, violoncello
July 1 (Sun) 2001, 6:30 p.m.
Michael Gordon: Potassium
Terry Riley: Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector
Clint Mansell (arr. David Lang): Requiem for a Dream Suite
Charles Mingus (arr. Sy Johnson): Myself When I Am Real
Silvestre Revueltas (arr. Stephen Prutsman): Sensemaya
P.Q. Phan: Three Scenes from An Duong Vuong,
Submersion in Trust and Betrayal, Prologue - The Declaration of An Duong Vuong / Death of My Chau / The Wedding
Arvo Pärt (arr. Kronos Quartet): Pari Intervallo
Steve Reich: Triple Quartet
A ¥3,500, B¥2,500 (All seats reserved)
For reservations: 029-231-8000 (9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., closed on Mondays)
Copyright ©2001 ART TOWER MITO. All Rights Reserved. Created by TK.
Mail to: webstaff@arttowermito.or.jp
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