Kronos Quartet members Hank Dutt, John Sherba, David Harrington, and Paul Wiancko (photograph by Lenny Gonzalez, from a Kronos Quartet Web page)
The Kronos Quartet was originally founded in Seattle by violinist David Harrington. The first performance took place in November of 1973 at North Seattle Community College, and Harrington was joined by violinist Jim Shallenberger, violist Tim Kilian, and cellist Walter Gray. Harrington moved to San Francisco in 1978; and this marked the beginning of the Kronos Quartet “as we know it,” bringing Harrington together with violinist John Sherba, violist Hank Dutt, and cellist Joan Jeanrenaud. Since that time, the only personnel changes have involved the cello, whose chair has been taken by Paul Wiancko since this past February.
This coming August, Kronos will begin the celebration of its 50th anniversary with a season’s worth of performances under the rubric of KRONOS FIVE DECADES. To enhance the celebratory occasion, the first offering will be a free concert in Golden Gate Park. This will mark the first time that the ensemble will perform in the park’s Bandshell, which was originally built in 1894 for the California Midwinter Exposition. The program has not yet been finalized; but it will include new works and signature pieces from the vast Kronos repertoire, featuring composers such as Bob Dylan, Angélique Kidjo, Nicole Lizée, Clint Mansell and Sigur Rós. (Are they still playing Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” 😈?)
The performance will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 26. The Golden Gate Park Bandshell is located at 75 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive. Admission will be free, and no RSVP will be required. A Web page for the event has been created on the Kronos Web site, which promises “More details to come!”
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