KRONOS QUARTET - 25 Years : Retrospective (1998) 10CD BOX-SET / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The 20th century has not been kind to most standard classical music forms. The piano sonata, the concerto, the symphony -- none of them have disappeared entirely, but none remain in a state that could be called even remotely healthy. The same was true of the string quartet until 1973, when violinist David Harrington got some friends together to play contemporary music and offered his old high-school composition teacher a bag of donuts if he'd write a piece for them. The resulting composition was the first of over 400 works that have been written for the Kronos Quartet over the course of the following 25 years, a period which has seen the revitalization of the previously moribund string quartet format. But Kronos has done more than simply triple the size of the string quartet repertoire; by focusing on living composers, by cultivating a somewhat rebellious image, and by playing with impeccable professionalism and skill, Kronos has brought a new and primarily young audience to classical music. This massive ten-disc retrospective includes performances of 31 major compositions, most previously released, but some in new recordings. There are none of the miniature works that fill so many of Kronos' individual albums; these are all long-form compositions, all but one presented in their entirety. They include two string quartets by Henryk Gorecki, Terry Riley's post-minimalist Cadenza on the Night Plain, Morton Feldman's Piano and String Quartet, three quartets by Philip Glass, and many others, but the highlights of the collection are the tremendously moving Different Trains by Steve Reich (who combined train sounds, multi-tracked string quartet, and the recorded voices of concentration camp survivors and Pullman porters to create a powerful and deeply personal statement on the Holocaust) and Alfred Schnittke's exquisite Collected Songs Where Every Verse Is Filled With Grief. The packaging is excellent as well, and includes a booklet packed with photos, essays, and notes on the individual composers and compositions. by Rick Anderson  
Tracklist 1 :
John's Book Of Alleged Dances, for string quartet    (33:16)
1-1    Judah To Ocean 2:22
Composed By – John Adams
1-2    Toot Nipple 1:13
Composed By – John Adams
1-3    Dogjam 2:30
Composed By – John Adams
1-4    Pavane: She's So Fine 6:29
Composed By – John Adams
1-5    Rag The Bone 2:59
Composed By – John Adams
1-6    Habanera 4:46
Composed By – John Adams
1-7    Stubble Crotchet 2:39
Composed By – John Adams
1-8    Hammer & Chisel 1:11
Composed By – John Adams
1-9    Alligator Escalator 3:50
Composed By – John Adams
1-10    Ständchen: The Little Serenade 4:52
Composed By – John Adams
1-11    Judah To Ocean (Reprise) 2:20
Composed By – John Adams
1-12    Fratres 9:25
Composed By – Arvo Pärt
1-13    Psalom 2:00
Composed By – Arvo Pärt
1-14    Summa 5:11
Composed By – Arvo Pärt
Missa Syllabica, for chorus    (12:38)
1-15    Kyrie 2:06
Composed By – Arvo Pärt
1-16    Gloria 2:45
Composed By – Arvo Pärt
1-17    Credo 4:27
Composed By – Arvo Pärt
1-18    Sanctus 0:55
Composed By – Arvo Pärt
1-19    Agnes Dei 1:45
Composed By – Arvo Pärt
1-20    Ite, Missa Est 0:25
Composed By – Arvo Pärt
Tracklist 2 :
Traveling Music No. 4, for string quartet     (18:57)
2-1    I. Gentle, Easy 2:15
Composed By – Ken Benshoof
2-2    II. Moderate 8:19
Composed By – Ken Benshoof
2-3    III. Driving 8:19
Composed By – Ken Benshoof
2-4    Song Of Twenty Shadows 11:17
Composed By – Ken Benshoof
Five Tango Sensations, for bandoneón & string quartet (abridgement and arrangement of Sette sequenze)   (26:46)
2-5    Asleep 5:23
Composed By, Bandoneon – Astor Piazzolla
2-6    Loving 6:11
Composed By, Bandoneon – Astor Piazzolla
2-7    Anxiety 4:52
Composed By, Bandoneon – Astor Piazzolla
2-8    Despertar 6:03
Composed By, Bandoneon – Astor Piazzolla
2-9    Fear 4:00
Composed By, Bandoneon – Astor Piazzolla
2-10    Four for Tango, for string quartet 3:58
Composed By – Astor Piazzolla
Tracklist 3 :
3-1        Piano And String Quartet 1:19:33
Composed By – Morton Feldman
Piano – Aki Takahashi
Tracklist 4 :
Quartet No. 4 (Buczak)    23:04
4-1    I 7:54
Composed By – Philip Glass
4-2    II 6:18
Composed By – Philip Glass
4-3    III 8:38
Composed By – Philip Glass
Mishima Quartet, Quartet No. 3    15:29
4-4    1957 - Award Montage 3:27
Composed By – Philip Glass
4-5    November 25 - Ichigaya 1:19
Composed By – Philip Glass
4-6    1934 - Grandmother And Kimitake 2:40
Composed By – Philip Glass
4-7    1962 - Body Building 1:39
Composed By – Philip Glass
4-8    Blood Oath 3:11
Composed By – Philip Glass
4-9    Mishima/Closing 2:56
Composed By – Philip Glass
Company, Quartet No. 2    7:23
4-10    I 2:09
Composed By – Philip Glass
4-11    II 1:34
Composed By – Philip Glass
4-12    III 1:28
Composed By – Philip Glass
4-13    IV 2:04
Composed By – Philip Glass
Quartet No. 5    (21:53)
4-14    I 1:11
Composed By – Philip Glass
4-15    II 2:59
Composed By – Philip Glass
4-16    III 5:28
Composed By – Philip Glass
4-17    IV 4:39
Composed By – Philip Glass
4-18    V 7:37
Composed By – Philip Glass
Tracklist 5 :
The Dreams And Prayers Of Isaac The Blind    (32:05)
5-1    Prelude: Calmo, Sospeso 3:14
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Basset Horn – David Krakauer
Composed By – Osvaldo Golijov
5-2    I. Agitato - Con Fuoco - Maestoso - Senza Misura, Oscilante 8:33
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Basset Horn – David Krakauer
Composed By – Osvaldo Golijov
5-3    II. Teneramente - Ruvido - Presto 10:34
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Basset Horn – David Krakauer
Composed By – Osvaldo Golijov
5-4    III. Calmo, Sospeso - Allegro Pesante 7:07
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Basset Horn – David Krakauer
Composed By – Osvaldo Golijov
5-5    Postlude: Lento, Liberamente 2:20
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Basset Horn – David Krakauer
Composed By – Osvaldo Golijov
5-6    Quartet No.4 11:47
Composed By – Sofia Gubaidulina
5-7    Mugam Sayagi 21:27
Composed By – Franghiz Ali-Zadeh
Tracklist 6 :
Quasi Una Fantasia, Quartet No. 2, Op. 64    (31:54)
6-1    I. Largo (Sostenuto - Mesto) 8:08
Composed By – Henryk Górecki
6-2    II. Deciso - Energico (Marcatissimo Sempre) 6:45
Composed By – Henryk Górecki
6-3    III. Arioso: Adagio Cantabile 7:23
Composed By – Henryk Górecki
6-4    IV. Allegro (Sempre Con Grande Passione E Molto Marcato) 9:31
Composed By – Henryk Górecki
6-5    Already It Is Dusk, Quartet No. 1, Op. 62 13:58
Composed By – Henryk Górecki
Tracklist 7 :
Different Trains, for double string quartet & tape    26:50
7-1    America - Before The War 8:59
Composed By – Steve Reich
7-2    Europe - During The War 7:31
Composed By – Steve Reich
7-3    After The War 10:19
Composed By – Steve Reich
Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet    18:16
7-4    I. Departure 5:26
Composed By – George Crumb
7-5    II. Absence 5:25
Composed By – George Crumb
7-6    III: Return 7:13
Composed By – George Crumb
Tracklist 8 :

Cadenza On The Night Plain    (30:39)
8-1    Introduction 2:21
Composed By – Terry Riley
8-2    Cadenza: Violin I 2:33
Composed By – Terry Riley
8-3    Where Was Wisdom When We Went West? 3:07
Composed By – Terry Riley
8-4    Cadenza: Viola 2:24
Composed By – Terry Riley
8-5    March Of The Old Timers Reefer Division 2:14
Composed By – Terry Riley
8-6    Cadenza: Violin II 2:06
Composed By – Terry Riley
8-7    Tuning To Rolling Thunder 4:53
Composed By – Terry Riley
8-8    The Night Cry Of Black Buffalo Woman 2:53
Composed By – Terry Riley
8-9    Cadenza: Cello 1:08
Composed By – Terry Riley
8-10    Gathering Of The Spiral Clan 5:25
Composed By – Terry Riley
8-11    Captain Jack Has The Last Word 1:35
Composed By – Terry Riley
8-12    Terry Riley: G Song 9:36
Composed By – Terry Riley
From Salome Dances For Peace, pieces (5) for string quartet    (29:00)
8-13    Echoes Of Primordial Time 11:15
Composed By – Terry Riley
8-14    Mongolian Winds 4:10
Composed By – Terry Riley
8-15    Good Medicine Dance 13:29
Composed By – Terry Riley
Tracklist 9 :
String Quartet No. 2    (21:51)
9-1    I. Moderato 3:12
Composed By – Alfred Schnittke
9-2    II. Agitato 5:36
Composed By – Alfred Schnittke
9-3    III. Mesto 6:41
Composed By – Alfred Schnittke
9-4    IV. Moderato 6:22
Composed By – Alfred Schnittke
String Quartet No. 4    (34:41)
9-5    I. Lento 9:01
Composed By – Alfred Schnittke
9-6    II. Allegro 7:00
Composed By – Alfred Schnittke
9-7    III. Lento 5:57
Composed By – Alfred Schnittke
9-8    IV. Vivace 3:21
Composed By – Alfred Schnittke
9-9    V. Lento 9:16
Composed By – Alfred Schnittke
Concerto for choir (Concerto for soprano & chorus)   
9-10    Collected Songs Where Every Verse Is Filled With Grief 8:13
Composed By – Alfred Schnittke
Tracklist 10 :
Jabiru Dreaming, String Quartet No. 11    (12:32)
10-1    I. Deciso 5:03
Composed By – Peter Sculthorpe
10-2    II. Amaroso 7:30
Composed By – Peter Sculthorpe
String Quartet No. 8    (11:54)
10-3    I. Con Dolore 2:03
Composed By – Peter Sculthorpe
10-4    II. Risoluto; Calmo 3:14
Composed By – Peter Sculthorpe
10-5    III. Con Dolore 3:02
Composed By – Peter Sculthorpe
10-6    IV. Con Precisione 1:35
Composed By – Peter Sculthorpe
10-7    V. Con Dolore 1:50
Composed By – Peter Sculthorpe
10-8    From Ubirr 11:12
Composed By – Peter Sculthorpe
Didgeridoo – Mark Nolan, Michael Brosnan
Memoirs of a Lost Soul, for string quartet
10-9    Tragedy At The Opera 6:29
Composed By – P. Q. Phan
White Man Sleeps, String Quartet No. 1    (22:20)
10-10    First Dance 4:03
Composed By – Kevin Volans
10-11    Second Dance 5:05
Composed By – Kevin Volans
10-12    Third Dance 3:23
Composed By – Kevin Volans
10-13    Fourth Dance 6:16
Composed By – Kevin Volans
10-14    Fifth Dance 3:20
Composed By – Kevin Volans
Credits :
Cello – Joan Jeanrenaud
Viola – Hank Dutt
Violin – David Harrington, John Sherba

KRONOS QUARTET / TERRY RILEY - Requiem for Adam (2001) APE (image+.cue), lossless

This may be the single most powerful piece of music that the Kronos Quartet has ever recorded, and perhaps that Terry Riley has ever written. This is because Requiem for Adam is so personal, so direct, and experiential. Requiem for Adam was written after the death of Kronos violinist David Harrignton's son. He died, in 1995, at the age of 16, from an aneurysm in his coronary artery. Riley, who is very close to the Harringtons and has a son the same age, has delved deep into the experience of death and resurrection, or, at the very least, transmutation. Requiem for Adam is written in three parts, or movements. The first, "Ascending the Heaven Ladder," is based on a four-note pattern that re-harmonizes itself as it moves up the scale. There are many variations and series based on each of these notes and their changing harmonics, and finally a 5/4 dance as it moves to the highest point on the strings. The drone-like effect is stunning when the listener realizes that the drone is changing shape too, ascending the scale, moving ever upward and taking part in the transmutation of harmony. There are no blustery passages of 32nd notes only gorgeous arco phrases shimmering away as the harmonics transform the piece of music form an ascent to a near pastoral acceptance of the highest realization linguistically. The second movement, "Coretejo Funebre en el Monte Diablo," is full of electronic music, horns, bells, and percussion that slam around in the background. This is a sampled soundtrack for the quartet, but it is integral in moving the focus of movement panoramically, expanding it across vistas instead of making it a vertical relationship between soul and the divine. It is cacophonous and almost celebratory. Riley refers to it as funeral music that might be heard in New Orleans, and he's almost right. Still there are classical canonical funereal figures here, like a Deus Irae that is somehow kinked up, offbeat, sideways, but nonetheless very present. In title movement, number three, plucked strings move against sliding harmonics and two long pulse notes stretch into almost impossible duration and intensity. These give way to funky dance figures, almost bluesy as a coda that moves toward an ever more frenzied articulation of theme and variation of the coda. There are graceful lines tacked on, almost as cadenzas for the strings to come back to themselves and their dovetailing roles, but they just take off again in search of that 7/8 polyrhythmic cadence again which gives way to a high register harmonics and finally a statement of the two-note pulse found at the beginning of the piece. It's the most complex quartet Riley has yet composed, and easily his most satisfying. The disc closes with "The Philosopher's Hand," a solo piano piece played by Riley. Riley was asked by Harrington to improvise a piece while thinking of Pandit Pran Nath, Riley's musical and spiritual teacher who passed in 1996. Riley claims that Pran Nath had come to Adam's funeral and held David Harrington's hand, which, Harrington remarked, was the softest hand he'd ever felt. The piece reflects all of these: the softness, the deep regret of Adam and Pran Nath's passing, and most of all of Riley's remembering, which is filtered through the anguish and beauty of the human heart. It's more than a whispering close to an already astonishing recording: it's the end of the world, and the beginning of the next, or at least the evidence that music can almost deliver this much.
(This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa')
Tracklist :
1    Ascending The Heaven Ladder    13:24
2    Cortejo Fúnebre En El Monte Diablo 7:05
Engineer – Craig Silvey
Engineer [Assistant] – Bob Levy
Sampler [Ensoniq Ts-12] – Terry Riley
3    Requiem For Adam    21:18
Cello – Jennifer Culp
Ensemble – Kronos Quartet
Viola – Hank Dutt
Violin – David Harrington, John Sherba
4    The Philosopher's Hand 5:57
Piano – Terry Riley 

KRONOS QUARTET / MAHSA & MARJAN VAHDAT - Placeless (2019) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Many of the Kronos Quartet's biggest-selling albums, going back to 1991's Five Tango Sensations, have drawn on vernacular traditions from outside the European-American sphere, and some, such as Caravan (2000), have drawn from the music of the Near East. Placeless, though, is a standout among the bunch, for several reasons. The album contains settings of Persian poetry by Rumi and various other classical and modern writers in the same ecstatic vein, hovering between religious mysticism and sensuality. The title comes from a poem by Rumi, who famously proclaimed, "I am not from the world, not from beyond. My place is placelessness. My trace is tracelessness." The album's most immediately attractive feature is the singing of Iranian vocalist Mahsa Vahdat, who has performed widely outside Iran but is forbidden by the country's Islamic government from appearing at home. (She still lives in Tehran and teaches privately.) Vahdat also wrote the melodic settings, and these are fascinating. They are not classical improvisations in the Persian system of modes but small chunks that fit the devotional exclamations of the poetry beautifully. And they approach the poetry in various ways. Sample Fate Astray, with its squarish, almost Western-style melody, and you'll also encounter another strong point: the variety of the arrangements. These draw on the work of various figures, both Persian and Western (this one is by Jacob Garchik), and they call for a wide range of textures from the Kronos Quartet, from evocations of plucked-string accompaniment to traditional string quartet textures, and even Middle Eastern percussion. The melodies are bewitching in themselves, and they seem to pass through prisms and come out in different shades. Highly recommended; one of the Kronos' strongest releases in recent years. by James Manheim 
Tracklist 
1 Placeless 3:10
Arranged By [Arrangement] – Sahba Aminikia
Music By [Melody] – Mahsa Vahdat
Vocals – Mahsa Vahdat
Words By [Poem] – Rumi
2 My Ruthless Companion 3:16
Arranged By [Arrangement] – Sahba Aminikia
Music By [Melody] – Mahsa Vahdat
Vocals – Mahsa, Marjan Vahdat
Words By [Poem] – Rumi
3 My Tresses In The Wind 3:32
Arranged By [Arrangement] – Jacob Garchik
Music By [Melody] – Mahsa Vahdat
Vocals – Marjan Vahdat
Words By [Poem] – Forough Farrokhzad
4 I Was Dead 3:12
Arranged By [Arrangement] – Atabak Elyasi
Music By [Melody] – Mahsa Vahdat
Vocals – Mahsa Vahdat
Words By [Poem] – Rumi
5 Endless Embrace 3:45
Arranged By [Arrangement] – Atabak Elyasi
Music By [Melody] – Mahsa Vahdat
Vocals – Mahsa Vahdat
Words By [Poem] – Atabak Elyasi
6 Fate Astray 2:58
Arranged By [Arrangement] – Jacob Garchik
Music By [Melody] – Mahsa Vahdat
Vocals – Marjan Vahdat
Words By [Poem] – Hafez
7 The Sun Rises 5:44
Arranged By [Arrangement] – Sahba Aminikia
Music By [Melody] – Mahsa Vahdat
Vocals – Mahsa, Marjan Vahdat
Words By [Poem] – Forough Farrokhzad
8 Vanishing Lines 5:25
Arranged By [Arrangement] – Sahba Aminikia
Music By [Melody] – Mahsa Vahdat
Vocals – Mahsa Vahdat
Words By [Poem] – Hafez
9 The Might Of Love 3:05
Arranged By [Arrangement] – Atabak Elyasi
Music By [Melody] – Mahsa Vahdat
Vocals – Mahsa Vahdat
Words By [Poem] – Hafez
10 Far Away Glance 3:13
Arranged By [Arrangement] – Aftab Darvishi
Music By [Melody] – Mahsa Vahdat
Vocals – Marjan Vahdat
Words By [Poem] – Atabak Elyasi, Mohammed Ibrahim Jafari
11 Leyli's Nightingales 3:36
Arranged By [Arrangement] – Atabak Elyasi
Music By [Melody] – Mahsa Vahdat
Vocals – Mahsa, Marjan Vahdat
Words By [Poem] – Atabak Elyasi
12 The Color Of Moonlight 4:18
Arranged By [Arrangement] – Atabak Elyasi
Music By [Melody] – Mahsa Vahdat
Vocals – Mahsa Vahdat
Words By [Poem] – Atabak Elyasi, Mohammed Ibrahim Jafari
13 Lover, Go Mad 3:23
Arranged By [Arrangement] – Sahba Aminikia
Music By [Melody] – Mahsa Vahdat
Vocals – Marjan Vahdat
Words By [Poem] – Rumi
14 Eternal Meadow 3:19
Arranged By [Arrangement] – Sahba Aminikia
Music By [Melody] – Mahsa Vahdat
Vocals – Mahsa Vahdat
Words By [Poem] – Rumi
Credits
Cello – Sunny Yang
Ensemble – Kronos Quartet
Performer [Kronos Quartet] – David Harrington, Hank Dutt, John Sherba, Sunny Yang
Text By [English Translation (Tracks 1, 3 to 6, 9 to 14)] – Erik Hillestad, Mahsa Vahdat
Text By [English Translation (Tracks 2, 7, 8)] – Sohrab Mahdavi
Text By [Quote On Cover (English)] – Rumi
Viola – Hank Dutt
Violin – David Harrington, John Sherba

KRONOS QUARTET / MAHSA & MARJAN VAHDAT - Placeless

(2019) KKV / FLAC (tracks), lossless

O Púbis da Rosa