LIVE MARCH 26/27TH, 2021 KRONOS & CASCADE QUARTETS HYBRID STRING QUARTETS WINTER SEASON BIG SKY MONTANA 2 WMPAC 2020/2021 WINTER SEASON HybridString Quartets 2021 WINTER SEASON KRONOS QUARTET CASCADE QUARTET VIRTUAL LIVE Kronos Quartet will be participating Montana’s celebrated quartet plays virtually with high-quality films of live on stage at WMPAC. pieces from their repertory. Megan Karls, violin David Harrington, violin Mary Papoulis, violin John Sherba, violin Alyssa Roggow, viola Hank Dutt, viola Thad Suits, cello Sunny Yang, cello 3 WMPAC 2020/2021 WINTER SEASON KRONOS & CASCADE QUARTETS MARCH 26/27TH | 5:30PM, 8PM GENRE: Classical HYBRID STRING QUARTETS WMPAC RATING: Blue Square CONNECTIONS: Kronos Quartet, wild Up, Edgar Meyer, Ahn Trio TICKETS: $10/$25 Launched in the 2015/16 season, Kronos’ About Kronos’ Fifty for the Future is commissioning 50 new works—by 25 women and 25 men— Fifty for the devoted to contemporary approaches to the string quartet and designed expressly Future for the training of students and emerging professionals. Kronos will premiere each PROGRAM piece and create companion digital Aleksandra Vrebalov My Desert, My Rose * materials, including scores, recordings, Kala Ramnath (arr. Reena Esmail) and performance notes, which can be Amrit + accessed online for free. Hawa Kassé Mady Diabaté (arr. Jacob Garchik) Tegere Tulon: I. Funtukuru * All works on this program were Raven Chacon The Journey of the Horizontal People + commissioned as part of the Kronos Trey Spruance Performing Arts Association’s Fifty for the Séraphîta: II. Le Baphomet * featuring Alonzo King LINES Ballet Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire, Tanya Tagaq (arr. Jacob Garchik) which is made possible by a group of Excerpt from Sivunittinni * adventurous partners, including Carnegie Philip Glass Quartet Satz + Hall and many others. Garth Knox Satellites: III. Dimensions + Aftab Darvishi Daughters of Sol * featuring 3000 Reefs, film by Julia Sumerling Charlton Singleton Testimony * All works on this program were written for Fifty for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire * Kronos Quartet Digital Performance + Cascade Quartet Live Performance 4 WMPAC 2020/2021 WINTER SEASON MARCH 26/27TH | 5:30PM, 8PM KRONOS & CASCADE QUARTETS HYBRID STRING QUARTETS My Desert, My Rose (2015) Aleksandra Vrebalov (b. 1970) Aleksandra Vrebalov, Modern Masters, Meet the Vrebalov’s cross-disciplinary Composer, and Douglas Moore interests led to participation a native of the former Fellowship. Her works have at residencies and fellowships Yugoslavia, left Serbia been recorded for Nonesuch, that include the MacDowell in 1995 and now lives Cantaloupe, Innova, Centaur Colony, Djerassi, The Records, Vienna Modern Hermitage, New York’s New in New York City. She Masters and Ikarus Films. Dramatists, Rockefeller has written more than Vrebalov’s collaborative work Bellagio Center, American 80 works, ranging with director Bill Morrison, Opera Projects, Other Minds from concert music, Beyond Zero (1914–1918), was Festival, and Tanglewood. Between 2007 and 2011, to opera and modern commissioned and premiered by Kronos at U.C. Berkeley’s Vrebalov created and led dance, to music for Cal Performances in April 2014 Summer in Sombor (Serbia), film. and had its European premiere a weeklong composition at the Edinburgh International workshop with the South Her works have been Oxford Six composers’ commissioned and/or Festival that summer. Her string quartet …hold me, collective that she co-founded performed by the Kronos in 2002 in NYC. The workshop Quartet, Serbian National neighbor, in this storm… was written for facilitated the Theater, Carnegie Hall, “My Desert, My Rose creation of Moravian Philharmonic, and recorded by Kronos for consists of a series of over fifty new Belgrade Philharmonic and works by young Providence Festival Ballet. the album patterns open in length, Floodplain. Her composers Vrebalov is a fellow of meter, tempo, and from Europe MacDowell Colony, Rockefeller string quartet Pannonia dynamics, different for and the USA. Bellagio Center, New York’s Most recently, New Dramatists, American Boundless, also each performer.” for Kronos, was Vrebalov joined Opera Projects, Other Minds Muzikhane Festival, and Tanglewood. published by Boosey & Hawkes as part of (House of Music) founded by Her awards include The composer Sahba Aminikia in Harvard Fromm Commission, the Kronos Collection, and recorded for the album Kronos Mardin and Nusaybin, towns The American Academy of on Turkish/Syrian border, Arts and Letters Charles Ives Caravan. In 2018, Vrebalov wrote Missa Supratext for and made music with young Fellowship, Barlow Endowment refugees from Syria and Iraq. Commission, MAP Fund, Vienna Kronos and SF Girls Chorus. 5 WMPAC 2020/2021 WINTER SEASON MARCH 26/27TH | 5:30PM, 8PM KRONOS & CASCADE QUARTETS HYBRID STRING QUARTETS cont’d: My Desert, My Rose (2015), Aleksandra Vrebalov (b. 1970) As a Serbian expat Vrebalov “The writing of this Video Credits: is the recipient of the Golden Kronos Quartet’s live Emblem from the Serbian piece, in a form as performance of My Desert, My Ministry of Foreign Affairs open and as tightly Rose was filmed at Stora Salen, for lifelong dedication and Uppsala Konsert & Kongress contribution to her native coordinated at the on May 5, 2017. Produced for country’s culture. Sveriges Television by Anna & About My Desert, My Rose, same time, was Paul vanitas.se Vrebalov writes: possible thanks to “My Desert, My Rose consists of a series of patterns open 20 years of exposure in length, meter, tempo, and dynamics, different for each to rehearsal and performer. The unfolding of the piece is almost entirely left performance habits of to each performer’s sensibility the Kronos Quartet, a and responsiveness to the parts of other members of the group for which I have group. Instinct and precision are each equally important in written 13 out of 14 of the performance of the piece. The patterns are (notated as) my pieces involving suggested rather than fixed musical lines, so the flow and string quartet.” the length of the piece are unique to each performance. The lines merge and align to separate and then meet again, each time in a more concrete and tighter way. The piece ends in a metric unison, like a seemingly coincidental meeting of the lines predestined to reunite. It is like a journey of four characters that start in distinctly different places, who, after long searching and occasional, brief meeting points, end up in the same space, time, language. 6 WMPAC 2020/2021 WINTER SEASON MARCH 26/27TH | 5:30PM, 8PM KRONOS & CASCADE QUARTETS HYBRID STRING QUARTETS Amrit (2016) Kala Ramnath (b. 1970), Arranged by Reena Esmail (b. 1970) Grammy-nominated violinist Kala Ramnath has been recognized as one of the 50 best instrumentalists in the world by Songlines Magazine, the same publication that selected her album Kala as one of the 50 best recordings in the world. The first Indian violinist to be featured in The Strad, Ramnath has also been featured in Hollywood soundtracks, including in the Oscar- nominated Blood Diamond. Born into a family of prodigious Ramnath has performed at African music into her rich and musical talents, Ramnath began all the major music festivals varied repertoire. her violin studies with her in India, as well as at several grandfather, Vidwan A. Narayan As a performer, Ramnath has stages throughout the world, shared the stage with such Iyer, before going on to study including the Sydney Opera with legendary vocalist Pandit musicians as Ustad Zakir House, London’s Queen Hussain, Kai Eckhart, Edgar Jasraj. During this mentorship, Elizabeth Hall, and New York’s Ramnath revolutionized the Meyer, Béla Fleck, Abbos Carnegie Hall. She has also Kosimov, and rock legend Ray violin technique and produced been known to forge musical a sound so unique, evocative, Manzarek of The Doors. As a alliances with renowned artists teacher, she lectures regularly and akin to classical Indian from different genres around vocal music that today her and conducts workshops the globe, incorporating around the world, such as at violin is called “The Singing elements of Western Classical, Violin.” the Rotterdam Conservatory Jazz, Flamenco, and traditional of Music in the Netherlands, 7 WMPAC 2020/2021 WINTER SEASON MARCH 26/27TH | 5:30PM, 8PM KRONOS & CASCADE QUARTETS HYBRID STRING QUARTETS cont’d: Amrit (2016), Kala Ramnath b. 1970), Arranged by Reena Esmail (b. 1970) When this tune University of Giessen in “Its counterpart in Indian Germany, and the Weill Classical Music is Raga Shudh came to me, it Institute in association with Nat. Ragas literally mean, Carnegie Hall in New York. ‘that which colors the mind.’ took over my Out of her several recordings, Though there are many Indian Kala and Samvad were “Top ragas with the major scale, mind for days. I of the World” in the charts what distinguishes one from of 2004, Yashila in 2006, and the other is their ascending was humming Samaya in 2008. Most recently, and descending rule of note one of her compositions was patterns. I have incorporated it constantly. It featured in the Grammy- the ornamental Indian slides sounded like a winning album In 27 Pieces: and glides touching upon the the Hilary Hahn Encores. microtones and repetitive rhythmic non-linear patterns very joyful and An established name in the so special to Indian classical world music scene, Ramnath music, giving it a unique sound happy tune to is keen to enrich the lives and feel. of underprivileged and sick me.” children through music in “When this tune came to me, the form of her foundation, it took over my mind for days. “Kalashree.” I was humming it constantly. It sounded like a very joyful and About Amrit, Kala Ramnath happy tune to me. In Sanskrit, writes: ‘amrit’ means ‘nectar.’ I hope “This composition was this Amrit gives the same joy created keeping in mind that and happiness to everyone it should appeal to every type who listens to it.” of listener, giving joy and happiness to whoever listens to it.