Kronos Quartet Concert and David Harrington Interview

Last night as part of the “pre-game show”, I had the pleasure to interview David Harrington, 1st violin of the Kronos String Quartet. I left with a very pleasurable first impression of him and of his approach to music. He appears to love music as much today as in his youth. Perhaps driven by his desire to seek new ideas, composers and new musical cultures, David and his cohorts count 731 pieces in their repertoire as of last night. At the concert that followed, we were treated to music of Indian, Icelandic, Mexican, Croatian, American and movie related origins. The Quartet used tape additions to reproduce readings from the Koran, church bells, poetry, sounds of exotic instruments and sounds of nature. The Kronos was slightly amplified which I did appreciate since the size of the hall was quite large (Palladium in Carmel, Indiana). I was pleased to notice that the audience seemed to appreciate the music which for the most part was accessible but yet challenging to new ears. I must compliment the Kronos for the diversity of music and the music choices themselves that I believe brought new members into the long time quartet’s mystique. It is difficult to put forth a concert of new music and to avoid the traps of infatuating with cheap comedy as well as  alienating with hyper-intellectualism. In last night’s arena, the Kronos Quartet was able to create an atmosphere where one’s attention could focus mostly on the music rather than on the musicians. Thank you for a pleasurable evening.