Kronos Quartet Perform World Works in 9/11 Tribute Awakening at Jorgensen

Kronos Quartet to Perform World Works in 9/11 Tribute ‘Awakening' at Jorgensen Tues, Sept. 27, 2011, at 7:30 p.m.

Last weekend, the nation and two presidents stared at endless memorial pools surrounded by stone walls with etched names of the almost 3,000 lost lives from 9/11. In a 10th anniversary tribute and Connecticut premiere, Kronos Quartet will perform a program called "Awakening," featuring original works by composers who represent a world of cultures, on September 27 at Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts.

Who better than Kronos, which has for more than 30 years set new boundaries for the string quartet and commissioned 650 works, to mark a somber time with adventurous new music on themes of reconciliation and peace.

With "Awakening: a Musical Meditation on the Anniversary of 9/11," Kronos uses "sonic building blocks" from 12 countries to enter the interior space where we harbor our feelings about the horrific moment in history. As Kronos founder Harrington, wrote, "We hope to create equilibrium in the midst of imbalance: a special covering on an open wound."

"Awakening" comprises works by Americans Terry Riley and Michael Gordon (selections from "The Sad Park") and composers from Uzbekistan, India, Germany, Canada, Argentina, Finland and Russia, with arrangements of traditional works from Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Sweden. The Mansfield Middle School Chorus, under the direction of Ken Johnson, will sing the Finnish children's piece, "Winter Was Hard."

Inspired in 1973 by George Crumb's Black Angels, an unorthodox piece reflecting Vietnam, first violinist David Harrington formed Kronos, with John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (viola) and Jeffrey Zeigler (cello). Kronos has since performed thousands of concerts worldwide, released 45 recordings and earned a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance (2004) and "Musicians of the Year" (2003) from Musical America.

Kronos has developed a diverse repertoire, stretching from masters like Bartók and Shostakovich to jazz legends Thelonious Monk and Ornette Coleman and rock guitar king Jimi Hendrix. The quartet has collaborated with composers such as Philip Glass on scores for the films Mishima and Dracula; "Father of Minimalism" Terry Riley; Steve Reich, whose Kronos-recorded Different Trains earned a Grammy; Polish composer Henryk Mikolaj Górecki, and Argentina's Osvaldo Golijov. The group has worked with singers from soprano Dawn Upshaw to Bollywood "playback" singer Asha Bhosle, and with celebrity personalities from Allen Ginsberg to David Bowie.

The ensemble operates a composer-in-residence program called Kronos: Under 30 Project and a Professional Training Workshop with string quartets at Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall.

Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts is located at 2132 Hillside Road on the UConn campus in Storrs. Tickets are $30 and $28, with some discounts. For tickets and information, call the Box Office 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon-Fri at 860.486.4226, or order online at: jorgensen.uconn.edu. Free, convenient parking is available across the street in the North Garage.