Kronos Quartet

This past Saturday, March 15th, the Germantown Performing Arts Center was privileged enough to have the world renowned Kronos Quartet performing on their stage. Because of incredible programs such CODA the tickets were only $5 for Rhodes College community members making it quite affordable to go to an otherwise expensive concert. The works that they performed fell under two different categories, either they were written for Kronos or they were arranged for Kronos this indicating the true uniqueness of the group. One of the pieces that was arranged for Kronos was “Death is the Road to Awe” from the movie The Fountain. I had previously heard this piece in the movie The Fountain which moved me quite a bit. It was quite special to hear the Kronos Quartet version of this piece as well especially to experience it live. The scoring for the work consisted of two violins, a viola, and a cello. The dynamics used throughout this piece call for areas of p followed by dramatic crescendos. The melody is also quite dramatic and powerful with the help of the variation of dynamics. This was my favorite piece they played and left for a great smash before intermission. It was also quite moving to watch and hear some of the pieces that were actually written for Kronos such as “The Order of Things” and the concluding piece “Particle 423.” It was quite a unique experience to actually hear works that were written for specific performers and listening to the virtuosity of the musicians and listening to the complex works put that into perspective. I hope to have the opportunity to hear them again sometime in the near future.