Bay Area: Kronos Quartet plays space music with visuals

In 2002, NASA and other sponsors commissioned minimalist composer Terry Riley and the Kronos Quartet to create a multimedia performance based on sounds recorded in space. Kronos Quartet's next performance of the piece, titled Sun Rings, will take place on January 18 at Stanford University. Accompanying Kronos will be the Stanford Chamber Chorale.

Link to Stanford performance info
Link to the Kronos Quartet "Sun Rings" page
Link to hear some of the space sounds given to Riley
Link to schedule of other performances and more info (Thanks, Erik Davis!)

[#1 posted by Moon , January 8, 2008 12:53 PM]

You can't make music any more without a gimmick, apparently.

[#2 posted by dougrogers , January 8, 2008 1:12 PM]

Anyone remember Fiorella Tirenzi's Invisible Universe?

[#3 posted by Phikus , January 8, 2008 1:12 PM]

Why does the headline read Kronos Quarter? It's getting hard to find intros without a typo or spelling mistake here these days?

[#4 posted by Phikus , January 8, 2008 1:14 PM]

The same mistake is made on one of your link texts...

[#5 posted by doktor tchock , January 8, 2008 1:39 PM]

there's good "Time District" joke here...but you've gone and edited the title.

[#6 posted by ill lich , January 8, 2008 2:45 PM]

There's no sound in outer space, so I guess they'll be performing John Cage's 4'33"?

"In space, nobody can hear you yawn!"

[#7 posted by treepour , January 8, 2008 9:54 PM]

"In space, nobody can hear you yawn!"

Then space would be the most inappropriate place imaginable for John Cage's 4'33".

[#8 posted by Drowse , January 8, 2008 10:08 PM]

I actually saw this performed at McFarlin Auditorium at SMU in Dallas last year. It was interesting, but as an minimal classical piece, really not my style. It didn't really keep my interest for the whole thing

[#9 posted by Phikus , January 9, 2008 10:46 AM]

Glad to see you made the corrections to the Quartet's name. Please let me know when you're hiring an editor.

[#10 posted by thetiredsaint , January 9, 2008 4:23 PM]

I attended the world premiere performance of this piece! While I enjoy minimalism, Terry Riley usually isn't my thing. However, Sun Rings blew me away!

(I got my program signed afterwards by the composer and the astronomer who invented the device that recorded the space sounds. Sweet.)

I encourage anyone who has a chance to see this amazing work to do so!