kronos quartet: black angels

This episode’s guest is David Harrington, founder of Kronos Quartet, the legendary string quartet at the vanguard of contemporary music for nearly 50 years. In this episode the subject is Black Angels, the startling George Crumb composition which sparked the formation of Kronos in 1973, and the quartet’s recording of the piece nearly 15 years later.

George Crumb (b. 1929) is an American modern classical and avant-garde composer who formed his distinct style, featuring unusual timbres and innovative sonorities, in the early 1960s. By the time he finished “Black Angels” on March 13, 1970, the composer had already won a Pulitzer Prize (1968) and established himself as the creator of a highly spiritual and poetic sound world.

Available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Broadcast date:
Friday February 11
Free Association with Brian Carpenter
5pm PST / 8pm EST
WZBC 90.3 FM
https://www.wzbc.org/listen/

Music segments:

Kronos Quartet
Terry Riley: G Song
Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collection
Nonesuch 2015

New York String Quartet
George Crumb: Black Angels
I. Threnody I. Night of the Electric Insects
Composers Recordings, Inc. 1972

Kronos Quartet
George Crumb: Black Angels
II. Absence - 6. Pavana Lachrimae
Nonesuch 1990

Budapest String Quartet
Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 127
The Budapest String Quartet ‎– The Late Quartets
Columbia Masterworks 1962

Kronos Quartet
George Crumb: Black Angels
III. Return - 10. God-Music
Nonesuch 1990

Interview with George Crumb
from Dec. 20, 2007, on the program "Outlook" on West Virginia PBS.

Kronos Quartet
Spem In Alium (Sing And Glorify)
Black Angels
Nonesuch 1990