Kronos Quartet Celebrates 40th Anniversary

Kronos Quartet celebrates its 40th anniversary and launches a fifth decade of innovation and exploration with an impressive array of projects and special events during its 2013-14 season. The milestone will be marked by a weeklong residency at Lincoln Center, coast-to-coast birthday concerts, a host of premieres, a Nonesuch CD boxed set, and performances around the globe. During the coming season, the Grammy-winning Quartet and its nonprofit Kronos Performing Arts Association will unveil more than a dozen commissioned works by the likes of Philip Glass, Bryce Dessner (of The National), Aleksandra Vrebalov, Dan Deacon, Mary Kouyoumdjian, David T. Little, and others, plus two film scores and a volume of commissioned works published by Boosey & Hawkes.

The anniversary season opens with a free outdoor concert on Saturday, June 22 at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in New Haven. This performance introduces the new Kronos line-up of founding violinist and Artistic DirectorDavid Harrington, longtime members John Sherba (violin) and Hank Dutt (viola), and new cellist Sunny Yang.

Since Kronos' debut concert at North Seattle Community College in November, 1973, it has become one of the most influential groups in any musical genre. Along the way, Kronos has:

Transformed its medium by bursting through stylistic and geographical boundaries
Sold more than 2.5 million copies of its 40+ albums
Created a vibrant new repertoire with more than 800 commissions to date
Collaborated with artists of a variety of styles from around the globe, including Tom Waits, Asha Bhosle,Taraf de Haïdouks, Laurie Anderson, Howard Zinn, Dawn Upshaw, Café Tacvba, Zakir Hussain, and Rokia Traoré
Changed the way chamber music is presented by incorporating sound and lighting design, and theatrical elements
Become the only ensemble to win both the Avery Fisher Prize and the Polar Music Prize
Nurtured subsequent generations of musicians through mentoring and educational initiatives
Established the not-for-profit Kronos Performing Arts Association, which manages the Quartet and furthers Kronos' ambitious musical and educational mission from its home base in San Francisco