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San Francisco Chronicle
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Review: Kronos Festival opening night packs politics and world premieres
For more than five decades, San Francisco's Kronos Quartet has been an iconic fixture in contemporary music, expanding the string quartet repertoire and taking on contemporary challenges. Since its founding in 1978 by violinist David Harrington — who leads the ensemble as its only remaining original member — Kronos has focused on globally and socially resonant music, and the 10th annual Kronos Festival promises to continue this signature mission while simultaneously launching a new era. The festival's opening-night concert on Friday, April 25, at the SFJazz Center's Miner Auditorium began with an uplifting throwback — Terry Riley's 'Good Medicine,' an excerpt from the American minimalist composer's quartet-ballad 'Salome Dances for Peace,' which Kronos commissioned and premiered in 1986. ('Good Medicine' is the title and theme of this year's entire festival.) It all seemed so natural for Kronos that you might almost have forgotten the big news — that this concert marked the Bay Area debut of a fresh lineup. Violinist Gabriela Díaz and violist Ayane Kozasa joined the Quartet in mid-2024, succeeding longtime players John Sherba and Hank Dutt. And cellist Paul Wiancko only joined in 2023. Kronos, of course, embraces novelty with zeal. Friday's program featured four world premieres — a pair of commissioned pieces, along with two bespoke arrangements. Kronos' penchant for creative curation shone in the concert's opening half. Riley's curtain-raiser proved an entrancing romp, the music's dance-like motion blending minimalist loops, ritual drones and ecstatic violin riffs. This eclectic, folksy modernism is the ensemble's bread and butter, and the new lineup already projects a tone that is warm, fleshy, exactingly precise and seemingly effortless. That distinctive palette stitched together a dizzying spread of musical styles and traditions, including Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir's 'Folk Faer Andlit' (in a new arrangement by Kronos), the Trindidadian folk song 'A Shout' (in a new arrangement by Jacob Garchik) and South Korean musician Soo Yeon Lyuh's 'Sumbisori — Sound of Resilience' (in its world premiere). A particular standout was Peni Candra Rini's 'Hujan' (also arranged by Garchick). Here, uncanny, gliding washes of atonal polyphony moved to seductive violin serenades and groovy percussive jolts. At times, Candra Rini's evocation of Indonesia's mountains and seas echoed the rustic good humor of both Riley and 'A Shout.' The concert's second half addressed contemporary concerns most directly. The world premiere of Aleksandra Vrebalov's 'Cardinal Directions' marked the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War's conclusion. Vietnamese instrumentalist Vân-Ánh Võ joined the Quartet, playing the shimmering đàn tranh and a battery of percussion, while violist Kozasa at one point used her bow to play a set of drinking glasses, piercing the soundscape with a silvery sheen. Gabriella Smith's 'Keep Going' sought to carve out a space for joy in the face of climate change. Accompanying field recordings of environmental activists, the Quartet replaced their bows with acorns, sticks and rocks. Ethereal harmonics evoking birdsong and back-of-the-bow knocks yielded to propulsive, euphoric ensemble vamps — the kind of irrepressible optimism that suffuses Kronos' politics. The Quartet's prevailing aesthetic in confronting social and political issues has become one of exuberant excess. Kronos is celebrated for having commissioned more than 1,000 pieces, but the surfeit of musical styles and political issues means that any significant engagement is necessarily limited. For example, the five-minute 'Folk Faer Andlit' — translated as 'People Get Faces' and composed to recognize the individual humanity of refugees — was presented here divested of the context needed for the piece to hit home. 'Sumbisori,' which featured Lyuh on haegeum, explored a hauntingly aching musical palette, accompanied by breathtaking photography of South Korea's Jeju Island. But as the composer delivered spoken narration describing the island's culture of female sea-diving, the Quartet receded into monotonous minor chords. Telling this story came at the cost of musical interest and coherence. Audiences have the chance to dive deeper into the ideas inspiring two of the festival's featured composers in events on Saturday, April 26. The whirlwind mainstage concerts, however, perhaps offer more uplift than cure for our cultural ills. While we may require a stronger prescription, Kronos' 'Good Medicine' nonetheless promises the dose of hope — or at least joyful distraction — that many of us need most.
Euronews
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Come in and tune out: Europe's vinyl junkies embrace the Listening Bar
ADVERTISEMENT "This is the Kronos Quartet and Asha Bohsle. I love this album," smiles Paul Noble, seated on a stool opposite me wearing a cloth cap. From the industrial ceiling hang small spotlight cylinders, super high-spec speakers and a glitter ball. A projector beams mildly psychedelic imagery onto one wall, while another boasts a generous spirits collection that basks invitingly in the effulgence. Sonically obsessed from an early age, Noble had a lengthy career with BBC radio, notably producing the much-vaunted Maida Vale sessions. But in 2012, he found himself in Japan, and that's where his idea took shape. "I went to Japan where they have a tradition of listening bars," he tells Euronews Culture. "And they could be tiny with six seats in them, maybe eight seats in them, and they just play records from start to finish on an amazing sound system. Usually there's a cover charge. So you're kind of already predisposed to go and listen and pay attention. They are all divided by genre so it's kind of an expression of the owner's personal taste so there'll be a jazz bar, there'll be a blues one, a classical music one. There's some kind of soft rock ones. It's nothing to do with club culture. It's nothing to do with DJing. Some might have you know, one turntable one CD player. I just completely fell in love with it. I couldn't get enough of it." Trend or bandwagon? Listening bars have become something of a trend in recent years but since the end of the pandemic (which cut short Spiritland's presence at the Royal Festival Hall) more and more bars are, wittingly or otherwise, becoming seen as part of the audiophile phenomenon. What qualifies a premises to exist in this burgeoning category, however, is up for debate. After all, what separates a 'listening bar' from a normal bar that plays music or has DJs? For Noble, it starts with the sound system. At Spiritland, the system is made by high-performance audio product trailblazer Living Voice , who engineer speakers to represent as faithfully as possible the sound of the acoustic instrument and not to seemingly compress the sound, which Kevin Scott, who heads up the Derbyshire manufacturer, believes conventional speakers do. "I was already buying stuff from them," says Noble. "I was on my own audio journey. They make some wild high-end speakers that can cost up to a million pounds with rare woods and gold finishes, but they also make some real-world ones, so I got rid of my whole sound system at home and bought from them for my lounge. And then we talked and they built this system for us. It was their tech but we had input on the design." Living Voice set-up at Spiritland Ed Reeve "We just put our flag in the sand saying 'this is a listening bar'. Lots of people came in and were saying "oh you can't dance, there are chairs all over the dance floor". It's not a club. We didn't put a kitchen and a radio studio in the corner accidentally. This is us saying this is what we're about. There's DJs playing every night, we do talks, we do lots of work with the record industry, with literature and film, and because of the room and the design and the sound system, we do lots of album launches," Noble explains. "We've done Dylan, The Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen, Jack White." Friends in hi-fi places A few miles east of here is a bar that has been linked with this hi-fi culture in some quarters, but perhaps the categorisation is misplaced. "Whilst we have high quality sound and audio in the space, we wouldn't really coin ourselves strictly as a listening bar," explains Karl Fuller, part of the collective behind Hackney Wick hangout All My Friends . Hackney Wick's All My Friends Jez Fielder/Euronews "This space was created with the intention of giving our community a more laid back space to hang out and exchange ideas. With our roots in clubs and dance music, connecting with music be it on the dance floor, or in a more laid back environment has always been extremely important to us." So here, while musical devotion is clearly observable (the lower floor houses a record shop), and money has been spent on sound, we're not finding quite the same culture of listening. It's more about connection between people here. The Record Shop @ All My Friends Jez Fielder/Euronews "The place caters for a wide range of ages and demographics," Fuller goes on. "But being that it isn't a ticketed space and is open access, it's certainly a lot more accessible for a wider pool of people. It's a place for our friends to eat, drink, buy records, listen to great music and when night hits and we move the chairs, have a proper dance too." Listening in Lisbon Back in Kings Cross, although the chairs are staying firmly where they are, the operation has spread its wings into continental Europe. Noble shows me a picture of the bar he and his business partner Sophie Uddin have just opened under the Spiritland name in an old Lisbon library with huge double-height ceilings. It certainly has the wow factor. ADVERTISEMENT Spiritland Lisbon Charlie McKay "It's a really lovely space," Noble is happy to concede. "We've just put ourselves forward for a design award." Spiritland has in fact opened six bars in Lisbon and the two that are music focussed are sister bars of the one in which Noble and I are chatting. Why Lisbon? Because he likes it. "I was travelling there loads, going to the bars, meeting everyone. We did a load of parties in the run-up, warehouse parties," he says of the lead up to opening Spiritland Lisbon and Kissaten (which also boasts the Portuguese capital largest whisky collection), both housed in the Locke Hotel. The Kissaten in Lisbon Charlie McKay One of the key differences from what's happening in Europe to the initial Japanese inspiration is generalisation. Reproducing genre-specific listening establishments is simply too niche. ADVERTISEMENT "It's just not going to work here. The audience is very, very broad, musically." Divinyl Inspiration When you walk into a bar of this nature, it's almost guaranteed that you will see lashings of vinyl. According to a report by Luminate , vinyl album sales increased from 13.1 million in 2016 to 49.6 million in 2023, a growth of nearly 300% over eight years. But what's behind the vinyl resurgence? Is it really better? "We're not vinyl-only at all," Noble says, perhaps surprisingly. "We've got CD players, we've got digital players. We do have a big record collection. Vinyl is a really nice way to file your music and the format of an album is great. But the sound, I think, has been blown out of the water by digital high-res recording. Vinyl is a nice way to build a library, a nice way to categorise it but with an amazing collection of music on a USB drive, although you can't see it, and can't hold it, the quality would be better than anything you're going to hear on record." Related The Vinyl Paradox: Why independent record stores are struggling despite the boom in physical media This is perhaps a diplomatic way to blow off arguments from vinyl purists that their chosen format is the most faithful way to replicate any given musical recording. There is a sense with vinyl collectors that it's somehow more honest but Noble makes the interesting point that you have to look at the full set up in any format to ensure that there's no weak link for the listener, regardless of the ephemera surrounding the format. ADVERTISEMENT Turntables at Kissaten in Lisbon Charlie McKay "When you're playing vinyl, every link in the chain from the cartridge to the pre-amp and the needle needs to be matched. So you could have one excellent piece that's then let down by another element." And it's this meticulous care and attention that recapitulates the listening bar's Japanese origins, where reverence for quality sound and engagement with the music was akin to religion. This is not to say that vinyl is not a huge feature of the Spiritland universe. "Every day from 6pm here we play music on turntables and it sounds amazing," Noble says. "But is it technically better than 24-bit hi-res digital recording? Well, I guess it's a preference." ADVERTISEMENT
New York Times
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Review: A Kronos Quartet Glow Up: New Players, Newly Lustrous Sound
The Kronos Quartet was at Zankel Hall on Friday with a typically eclectic program that included new works drawing on jazz, psychedelic rock and Nordic folk music. The vibrant performance was not only the ensemble's return to a space it reliably fills with devoted fans; with the quartet's ranks refreshed by three brilliant new players, it also felt like a comeback. In recent years, the aging ensemble — founded in 1973 by David Harrington, who continues to lead it as first violin — sometimes seemed to have had slid into an identity crisis. The Kronos brand was still strong: Ambitious commissions kept pushing the boundaries of quartet music, resulting in more than 1,000 new works and arrangements drawing on every imaginable style. In the run-up to its golden jubilee, the ensemble initiated a commissioning project, 50 for the Future, and made the sheet music to all 50 pieces available free online. But the quality of the playing had become inconsistent. And the spoken introductions the players offered at concerts felt perfunctory and tired. When the violinists John Sherba and Hank Dutt, who had been in the lineup since 1978, retired last year, the quartet might have disbanded. Instead, Harrington brought in fresh talent and — judging by the music-making on Friday — strong personalities. The quartet's middle voices now belong to the violinist Gabriela Díaz and the violist Ayane Kozasa, who join the composer and cellist Paul Wiancko, who came onboard in 2022. During the kaleidoscopic first half of the concert the two women asserted themselves as the quartet's engines of emotional intensity and a newly lustrous, rich sound. This came through most powerfully in Aleksandra Vrebalov's incantatory 'Gold Came From Space,' which gradually grows in sonic density and expressive intent of tremulous whispers. Time and again, Kozasa's viola stole the spotlight with its absorbing mixture of lyricism and throaty candor. She channeled Nina Simone's tough-nosed tenderness in Jacob Garchik's arrangement of 'For All We Know' (composed by J. Fred Coots) and set the tone for Wiancko's arrangement of Neil Young's protest song 'Ohio.' Two songs by Sun Ra, 'Outer Spaceways Incorporated' (wittily arranged by Garchik) and 'Kiss Yo' Ass Goodbye,' in a psychedelic arrangement by Terry Riley and Sara Miyamoto, sparkled with experimental glee. That exploratory zest had always been a hallmark of Kronos. But the heart-on-sleeve directness the group brought to Viet Cuong's stirring 'Next Week's Trees,' in which the quartet sometimes sounds like a giant harp, felt new. The second half was taken up by a single work, 'Elja,' by Benedicte Maurseth and Kristine Tjogersen. Maurseth, who joined the Kronos players for the performance, is a master on the Norwegian hardanger fiddle, a violin-like instrument with four extra resonating strings and a curved neck and carved scroll that evokes the bow of an ancient ship. For the 45-minute piece, which also featured recorded nature sounds, the Kronos players switched to hardanger versions of their own instruments. (The viola and cello fiddles were specially built for Kronos by the Norwegian luthier Ottar Kasa.) Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Patti Smith Honored with All-Star Tribute Concert Led by Bruce Springsteen and Michael Stipe
The post Patti Smith Honored with All-Star Tribute Concert Led by Bruce Springsteen and Michael Stipe appeared first on Consequence. Patti Smith's 50-year cross-generational musical impact was on full display Wednesday night, as artists both young and old came out to serenade the legendary artist during a tribute concert at Carnegie Hall. Bruce Springsteen, Michael Stipe, Flea, Sean Penn, Karen O, Scarlett Johansson, Maggie Rogers, Johnny Depp, Susanna Hoffs, Jim Jarmusch, Matt Berninger, Glen Hansard, Sharon Van Etten, Courtney Barnett, Angel Olsen, Alison Mosshart, Michael Shannon, and members of Smith's backing band were among the many names who turned out for 'People Have the Power: A Celebration of Patti Smith.' The concert doubled as a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Smith's landmark album, Horses, and a charity benefit for music education for underserved youth. Tony Shanahan, a frequent collaborator of Smith's, served as the event's musical director and led a house a band also featuring Flea, Steve Jordan, Charlie Sexton, and Benmont Tench. Get Patti Smith Tickets Here The setlist featured performances Smith songs including 'Redondo Beach' sung by Barnett; 'Gloria' by Karen O; 'Frederick' by Rogers; 'Easter' by Olsen; 'Dancing Barefoot' by Depp and Mosshart; and 'Pissing in a River' by Van Etten. Additionally, Penn, Johansson, and Shannon recited some of Smith's poetry. The evening concluded with Springsteen taking the stage to sing 'Because the Night,' the 1978 song he co-wrote with Smith, before giving the way to the night's honoree, who performed 'Peaceable Kingdom' 'People Have the Power.' The latter song saw her joined on stage by many of the night's performers. Watch fan-captured video and see the full setlist from the evening below. This fall, Smith will further celebrate Horses by embarking on an anniversary tour. Get tickets here. Setlist: 'Piss Factory' (Matt Berninger) 'Free Money' (Jesse Malin) 'Redondo Beach' (Courtney Barnett) 'Pissing in a River' (Sharon Van Etten) 'Cowboy Truths' (Michael Shannon) 'Elegie' (Kronos Quartet) 'My Blakean Year' (Michael Stipe with Jesse Paris Smith, Tony Shanahan and Andy LeMaster) 'The Hour of Noon' (Jim Jarmusch) 'A Songwriter's Song' (Jim Jarmusch) 'Departure' (Jim Jarmusch) 'Ghost Dance' (Ben Harper) 'Ask the Angels' (Alison Mosshart) 'Kimberly' (Susanna Hoffs) 'Mother Rose' (Paul Banks and Julia Banks) 'Wind' (Body/Head) 'Final Letter to Mapplethorpe' (Scarlett Johansson) 'Reflecting Robert' (Scarlett Johansson) 'Paths That Cross' (Music Will Academy of Lower Manhattan Public Middle School) 'Easter' (Angel Olsen) 'The Golden Cockerel' (Sean Penn) 'Beneath the Southern Cross' (Glen Hansard) 'Frederick' (Maggie Rogers) 'Dancing Barefoot' (Johnny Depp and Alison Mosshart) 'Gloria' (Karen O) 'Because the Night' (Bruce Springsteen) reading, unknown title (Patti Smith) 'Peaceable Kingdom'/'People Have the Power' (Patti Smith) 'People Have the Power' (Patti Smith and Ensemble) Patti Smith Honored with All-Star Tribute Concert Led by Bruce Springsteen and Michael Stipe Alex Young Popular Posts Members of British Punk Band UK Subs Detained and Denied Entry into US Drake's Lawyers Say "Millions of People" Believe Kendrick Lamar's Pedophile Claim Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl Halftime Show Received 125 FCC Complaints Heart's Nancy Wilson: It's "Embarrassing" To Be an American Right Now A Definitive Ranking of Every Disney Live-Action Remake Tool Allow Rare Livestream of Full Lollapalooza Argentina Set ... From a Distance Subscribe to Consequence's email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox.
