Kronos Quartet Releases Final 50 For The Future Pieces

The Kronos Performing Arts Association has announced that all of the works in its visionary 50 for the Future project have now been released, and are available at 50FTF.kronosquartet.org.

Unprecedented in scope and impact, this initiative to commission a repertoire of 50 new string quartet works for students and emerging professionals was first announced in 2015, during Kronos Quartet's 40th-anniversary season. Now, as the iconic ensemble's 50th anniversary approaches, musicians and listeners can explore the newly completed collection, which includes works by Laurie Anderson, Raven Chacon, Rhiannon Giddens, Philip Glass, Angélique Kidjo, Missy Mazzoli, Terry Riley, Tanya Tagaq, Henry Threadgill, Wu Man, and many others.

As a whole, the 50 for the Future catalog represents an ear-opening variety of stylistic and cultural perspectives. Many works include extended techniques, electronics, non-Western playing styles, improvisation, alternative tunings, or theatrical elements. Through these pieces, players can develop skills that are fundamental to contemporary repertoire while discovering a wealth of new compositional voices and ideas.

Scores and parts, recordings, and companion learning materials can be accessed at the 50 for the Future website free of charge. To date, these materials have been downloaded more than 27,000 times by visitors from 100+ countries and territories worldwide, reflecting the global reach of Kronos' audience as well as its repertoire.

Kronos also coaches these works in person. This season, the quartet will mentor young and emerging ensembles through residencies at the Curtis Institute of Music (Philadelphia, PA), The Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto), Chamber Music | OC (Orange County, CA) and other institutions to be announced.

Ultimately, 50 for the Future's impact extends well beyond its educational mission - it has broadly expanded the concert repertoire itself. Professional ensembles programming 50 for the Future pieces around the world include the Aizuri, Argus, Black Square, Friction, Ligeti, Mivos, Polyphony, Taïga, and Ulysses Quartets, plus Quatuor Bergen, Sybarite5, and many others.

Said Janet Cowperthwaite, KPAA's Executive Director, "We are thrilled to have completed the creative phase of Kronos' 50 for the Future with the release of the final works in the collection. On behalf of Kronos and everyone at the Kronos Performing Arts Association, I'd like to express our deep gratitude to the many generous individuals and institutions who have supported the development and realization of Kronos' 50 for the Future, our most ambitious project to date.

"Commissioning has always been central to our mission, with more than 1,000 new works since the group's founding in 1973. But we are especially proud to see this music engage artists and audiences around the world as it begins to take its place in the repertoire."

This season, Kronos will spotlight 50 for the Future pieces on nearly every touring concert. One such event is Glass Reimagined, a celebration of Philip Glass' 85th birthday at the Rainbow Room in New York's Rockefeller Center (Friday, October 28, 7:30 and 9:30 pm). The program will include 50 for the Future pieces by Glass and Jlin, who is also performing.

Kronos will also play 50 for the Future works in Toronto, Berkeley, Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, and other cities this season, with additional dates to be announced. Visit kronosquartet.org for a calendar of events. Further in view, recordings for the entire 50 for the Future collection, performed by Kronos and currently only available on its website, will be released on digital streaming platforms in the 2022-23 season.

After ten years with the Kronos Quartet, cellist Sunny Yang will leave the group at the end of January 2023 to pursue other projects. Cellist/composer Paul Wiancko will join the ensemble in February.

Wiancko was recently featured in The Washington Post's "22 for '22: Composers and Performers to Watch." In addition to contributing a work to the 50 for the Future collection, he has served as a guest cellist with Kronos on tour.

Kronos Quartet's Artistic Director David Harrington said, "We thank Sunny for 10 fabulous years with Kronos! Sunny's elegant, incisive playing has anchored our concerts, recordings, and rehearsals. She led us into the iPad era; her ease with all of our composers and her indelible contributions to 50 for the Future have permanently influenced the music of Kronos. We all wish Sunny the very best in the future.

"We welcome Paul to Kronos! We look forward to soaring into the future with the catalytic, super-charged vitality of Paul's playing. It will be so much fun to explore the vast world of music together with Paul. There are so many cool adventures ahead."

Said Sunny Yang, "David, John, and Hank continue to inspire me through their dedication, artistry, kindness, and finding joy in things both big and small. I'm honored to have them as my colleagues as well as my friends, and I would like to thank them for the incredible musical journey we shared for the past ten years."

Stated Paul Wiancko, "I am absolutely thrilled to become a member of the Kronos Quartet! The mere thought of joining an ensemble that has had such a profound impact on my musical life evokes feelings that are impossible to put into words. I am proud to get to draw from my experience as a cellist, chamber musician, educator, and composer to help the Kronos Quartet continue to inspire young musicians, advocate for composers around the world, and provide a glimpse into the musical landscape of the future - in short, all of the things they have already done for me."

For nearly 50 years, San Francisco's Kronos Quartet - David Harrington (violin), John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (viola), and Sunny Yang (cello) - has reimagined what the string quartet experience can be. One of the most celebrated and influential groups of our era, Kronos has given thousands of concerts worldwide, released more than 70 recordings, and collaborated with many of the world's most accomplished composers and performers across many genres. Through its nonprofit organization, Kronos Performing Arts Association (KPAA), Kronos has commissioned more than 1,000 works and arrangements for quartet. Kronos has received more than 40 awards, including the Polar Music, Avery Fisher, and Edison Klassiek Oeuvre Prizes.

Integral to Kronos' work is a series of long-running commissioning collaborations with hundreds of both eminent and emerging composers, including Terry Riley, Aleksandra Vrebalov, Philip Glass, Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, and Steve Reich. In its most ambitious commissioning effort to date, KPAA has recently completed 50 for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire. Through "50FTF," Kronos has commissioned-and distributed online for free-50 new works for string quartet designed for students and emerging professionals, written by composers from around the world.

In recordings, Kronos has collaborated with artists including Wu Man, Zakir Hussain, Asha Bhosle, Mahsa Vahdat, and Nine Inch Nails. Kronos has performed live with the likes of Paul McCartney, Allen Ginsberg, Rokia Traoré, David Bowie, Rhiannon Giddens, Caetano Veloso, and The National, among many others.

The quartet tours for several months each year, appearing in celebrated venues including Carnegie Hall (New York), Palacio de Bellas Artes (Mexico City), the Barbican (London), the Muziekgebouw (Amsterdam), Shanghai Concert Hall, Suntory Hall (Tokyo), and the Sydney Opera House.

Kronos' expansive discography on Nonesuch includes three Grammy-winning albums-Terry Riley's Sun Rings (2019), Landfall with Laurie Anderson (2018), and Alban Berg's Lyric Suite (2003)-along with dozens of other acclaimed releases. Kronos' most recent recording is Mỹ Lai (2022), an opera by Jonathan Berger and Harriet Scott Chessman. Kronos' work has also featured prominently in many films, including the "live documentary" A Thousand Thoughts, written and directed by Sam Green and Joe Bini, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018.

Based in San Francisco, the nonprofit KPAA staff manages all aspects of Kronos' work, including commissioning, concert tours and local performances, education programs, and an annual Kronos Festival in San Francisco.

To post a comment, you must register and login.