For nearly 50 years, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet—David Harrington (violin), John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (viola), and Paul Wiancko (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 three Grammy Awards and 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 composers worldwide, including Terry Riley (Salome Dances for Peace, Sun Rings); Aleksandra Vrebalov (Pannonia Boundless, Beyond Zero); Tanya Tagaq (Nunavut, Sivunittinni); Philip Glass (String Quartets No. 6 and No. 7); Fodé Lassana Diabaté (Sunjata’s Time);and Steve Reich (Different Trains, WTC 9/11).
In its most ambitious commissioning effort to date, KPAA has recently completed a monumental education project, 50 for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire. Through this initiative, supported by Lead Partner Carnegie Hall and a robust coalition of other partners, 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. Kronos has also mentored emerging musicians through workshops or extended residencies with institutions such as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (New York), San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto), Holland Festival (Amsterdam), and New York University Abu Dhabi.
In recordings, Kronos has collaborated with artists including Chinese pipa virtuoso Wu Man, Indian tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain, legendary Bollywood “playback singer” Asha Bhosle, Iranian vocalist Mahsa Vahdat, industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, and the Malian Trio Da Kali. 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. In dance, famed choreographers such as Merce Cunningham, Twyla Tharp, and Alonzo King have set work to Kronos’ music.
The quartet tours for several months each year, appearing in celebrated venues and festivals including Carnegie Hall, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!, and BAM Next Wave Festival in New York; Big Ears in Knoxville, Tennessee; Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City; the Barbican in London; the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam; Shanghai Concert Hall; Suntory Hall in 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’ recent recordings include Mỹ Lai (2022), an opera by Jonathan Berger (music) and Harriet Scott Chessman (libretto), and Long Time Passing: Kronos & Friends Celebrate Pete Seeger (2020).
Kronos’ work has featured prominently in many films, including A Thousand Thoughts, a “live documentary” that tells the story of Kronos’ career through live music, narration, and film. Written and directed by Sam Green and Joe Bini, the work premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018. Most recently, the quartet performed on the soundtrack for Users (2021) and is both seen and heard in the documentary Zappa (2020).
Based in San Francisco, the nonprofit KPAA staff manages all aspects of Kronos’ work, including commissioning, concert tours and local performances, recordings, education programs, and an annual Kronos Festival in San Francisco.