The festival’s opening night, an encounter between the public and the artists that promises emotions within contemporary music. It is performed by San Francisco's Kronos Quartet, young talents of ESMUC and the visual artist Alba G. Corral.
For 45 years, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet—David Harrington (violin), John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (viola), and Sunny Yang (cello)—has combined a spirit of fearless exploration with a commitment to continually reimagine the string quartet experience. In the process, Kronos has become one of the world’s most celebrated and influential ensembles, performing thousands of concerts, releasing more than 60 recordings, collaborating with many of the world’s most intriguing and accomplished composers and performers, and commissioning over 1,000 works and arrangements for string quartet.
Kronos showcases the wide breadth of its repertoire on the opening night of 2019 Grec, where the group will perform pieces by Philip Glass and American electronic musician Jlin, as well as arrangements of works by George Gershwin, Antonio Haskell, Solomon Linda, and others. Kronos’ performance will be accompanied by projections by visual artist and creative programmer Alba G. Corral, who uses the latest technologies to create fascinating digital landscapes that integrate music and occasionally, live drawing. With singer Maria Arnal as a special guest.
Embedded in this evening’s program is Fifty for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire, Kronos’ education and legacy project that is commissioning—and distributing for free—the first learning library of contemporary repertoire for string quartet. At its completion, the repertoire will include 50 new works, half by women and half by men from all over the world. As part of a special pre-concert event coordinated by David Albet, artistic director of contemporary music training Barcelona 216, a group of young musicians from the Higher School of Music of Catalonia (ESMuC) will perform selections from Kronos’ Fifty for the Future in the Roserar Amargós (the Teatre Grec gardens).
A production of 2019 Grec Festival of Barcelona.
In cooperation with ESMUC.
Performing: Kronos Quartet: David Harrington (violin), John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (viola), Sunny Yang (cello)
Music composition: George Gershwin, Antonio Haskell, Michael Gordon, Jlin, Alex McDade, Pete Seeger, Terry Riley, Philip Glass and traditional compositions
Special Guest: Maria Arnal (voice), Alba G. Corral (visuals)
Lighting design: Brian H. Scott Sound concept and design: Brian Mohr Production: Kronos Performing Arts Association
ESMUC performers coordination: David Albet
ESMUC Quartets:
Quartet Atenea: Andrea Santiago, Gil Sisquella, Bernat Santacana, Àlex Olmedo
Quartet Vivancos: Jordi Prim, Anna Sanchis, Estela Megías, Quim Tejedor
Nina Quartet: Darío Rodríguez, Javier Curiel, Pau Planell, Carmen Kleykens
Airun Saxophone Quartet: Denís Casanova, Ana Parejo, Joseph Hooworth, Marçal Montlló
