music: Kronos challenges classical genres
Sarah Caufield, The Peak

The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts may be a great venue for classical performances, but you could hardly call the Kronos Quartet purely classical. Established in 1973, the Quartet has dedicated itself to new and innovative music. They have commissioned a vast repertoire of music from all around the world, and their set on Oct. 28 at the Chan Centre was filled with music written or arranged for them. It was quite an eclectic night, with composers ranging from Hildegard von Bingen to Charles Mingus. They performed Sensemayć, "a Mexican Rite Of Spring" by Silvestre Revueltas from their up-coming album, as well as the Vancouver premiere of Triple Quartet by Steve Reich, where the Quartet performed with two of their own pre-recorded quartets. The Quartet's work with Clint Mansell on the soundtrack of Requiem For A Dream seemed to have drawn many people, because the audience really began cheering after the performance of the soundtrack suite.

While some pieces were performed with other recorded sounds, such as Ali-Zadeh's Oasis, which used sounds of water dripping to create atmosphere, the sounds achieved by the four members alone were astounding. The most memorable moment came with von Bingen's 12th century composition, originally a choral piece. Nothing too outrageous, just an simple church song, but by the time the piece ended, everyone was caught up in the music, and there was a long pause before anyone began to applaud - no one wanted to destroy the mood.

As I was leaving, I overheard one person commenting, "that rocked." Probably one of the last things you would expect to hear after a classical performance, but somehow it was fitting. The Kronos Quartet may have its foundation in music written centuries ago, but they have found a way to make themselves unique, challenging the genre rather than simply playing along.

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