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After interviewing first violinist David Harrington of the Kronos Quartet the week before, I went to the concert at the Lied Center on April 13 knowing full-well that I was in for an enjoyable evening.  The performance did not immediately grab me however.  It was not until after the concert was over that I realized the genius of their programming.  The program was a trajectory of pieces: each one more challenging to the audience than the last.  This approach enabled neophytes and hardcore music fans alike to become enchanted by the performance at various times throughout the night.

Let me tell you, I really needed the therapeutic power of good music after my horrific day - and  between scratching my cornea and one of my dogs spraining his foot, I felt I was due.  The Kronos Quartet's performance at Lied Center provided that in spades.

Terry Riley's "Good Medicine" from the epic Salome Dances for Peace started the evening.  I felt as though there were some balance issues with amplification as the viola and cello were too prominent.  While it was easy to imagine the instrumentalists dancing together throughout Riley's tuneful-lines, it was overlong and there wasn't enough variety of material.  Osvaldo Golijov's arrangement of Midhat Assem's Ya Habibi Ta'ala (My Love, Come Quickly) was one of those kitschy world/classical music fusion pieces that sell lots of crossover classical CDs.  I wasn't a fan.  The accompanying electronics (tabla and prerecorded quartet with minimal processing) existed to make-up for Golijov's poor orchestration of the acoustic ensemble.

After the first two subpar pieces, the concert got markedly better: a trend that would continue through the evening.  Smyrneiko Minore, in an arrangement by Jacob Garchik after the vocal stylings of Greek songstress Marika Papagika, found the quartet wonderfully mimicking her nasal voice.  The electronics were a vital component and were not overwhelming.  I felt bad for violist Hank Dutt, who - in typical viola fashion - had been relegated to almost entirely pizzicato parts for two pieces in a row.

Tashweesh by Palestinian group Ramallah Underground (also an arrangement by Garchik) was like a remixed underscore of a 24 episode set in a Middle Eastern factory.  The mechanical rhythms and interlocking counterpoint was an industrial-fueled feast for the ears.  Terry Riley's "The Ecstacy: At the Summit" (another movement from Salome Dances for Peace) was much more successful than Good Medicine.  The minimalist lines were played with a seemingly Straussian passion that made the gorgeous final chords revelatory.

Ending the first half was Bryce Denner's wonderful Aheym (Homeward).  The aggression of jarring opening gestures was only slightly tamed by the vast array of variations and techniques Denner used.  The Quartet played with gusto and final moments found the ensemble performing a rock 'n roll Paganini-esque caprice as if hyped-up on PCP.  Harrington's bow and fingers were moving so fast during this dazzling display of technical proficiency they were a blurry. 

Transitioning effectively out of intermission was Raz Mesinai's Crossfader.  Like Denner's the piece was in-your-face with a throbbing bass provided by the cello.  With roots in an electroacoustic medium, Mesinai mapped those techniques on to the acoustic instruments of the quartet.  I was fooled and thought there were at least some electronic components besides the amplification.  After reading the program notes I found I was mistaken.  That is certainly a mark of a well-crafted piece and outstanding execution.

Of the three Riley pieces, the performance of "One Earth, One People, One Love" from Sun Rings, was the strongest.  Cellist Jeffrey Zeigler tone was yearning and achingly beautiful.  The other members were purely accompanimental, but still engaged amongst the sounds of space and the voices of Alice Walker and Eugene Cernan.  It was euphoric and bittersweet.

The meatiest piece on the program was the final work: Aleksandra Vrebalov's ...hold me, neighbor, in this storm....  Using snippets of Serbian songs and traditional Balkan instruments, the gusle (stringed instrument) and tapan (double-headed drum), the piece was hodgepodge of thorny harmonies and folk melodies.  The electronics transformed the pieced from a Bartok knockoff into the full-fledge rage of a dying tradition.  The Quartet played with extreme conviction, tenderness, and bravado as Vrebalov's musical mixture ran the gamut of emotions.

After the sustained discord and challenging nature of Vrebalov's piece, the absolutely essential encore, brought the program full circle.  Ram Narayan's "Alap" from Raga Mishra Bhairavi was a viola feature.  Dutt owned the style becoming an Indian sarangi.  This innate grasp of musics outside of one's native culture is a very difficult understanding to absorb and transform.  Dutt showcased a true mastery of his instrument and a cross-cultural virtuosity.

My only quibble (aside from the first two pieces) was an overall aural sensation of coldness.  I think it was due to the amplification as it stripped the instruments of their typically warm sounds.  Though the performance didn't heal my eye or my dog's foot, I did leave the hall feeling relieved, excited and awaiting the Kronos Quartet's next CD and performance.


REVIEW:
Lied Center at KU
Kronos Quartet
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Lied Center, University of Kansas Campus
http://lied.ku.edu/

For more information on the Kronos Quartet visit www.kronosquartet.org

By Lee Hartman

Editor-in-Chief; Traditional and New Classical Contributor

Lee Hartman holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (D.M.A., M.M.) and the University of Delaware (B.M.). At the University of Delaware, he received a Dean's Scholar position enabling him to pursue an individually designed academic program combining music education and composition. At the University of Missouri-Kansas City he served for three years as the Assistant Director to Musica Nova, the conservatory's new music ensemble, while teaching a variety of composition classes.

In 2007 he was invited to both the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavík, Iceland and the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China to give lectures and master classes in composition. In the summer of 2009, Hartman served as an orchestra manager for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and Aspen Opera Theater Center for various performances. He serves on the National Executive Committee of the Society of Composers, Inc. as Submissions Coordinator. His primary composition instructors include James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Paul Rudy, John Beall, and Jennifer Margaret Barker. He currently teaches music theory at the University of Central Missouri and general music classes at Park University having previously taught at UD (2007–08) and UMKC (2006–07).

His compositions can be found at http://www.leehartmanmusic.com