Kronos Quartet: contemporary string music and the ethnic inspirations of “Floodplain”

Founded by David Harrington in 1973, Kronos Quartet is undoubtedly the world's best-known string quartet. Specialising in contemporary music, they have inspired around 600 works written especially for them by various artists. Yet the secret of their extraordinary popularity lies in an almost unparalleled stylistic openness.

The musicians' interests cover an extraordinarily broad expanse of the musical world. They have performed and continue to perform experimental, early and ancient music, jazz, tango, Mexican folk and film music, and work with numerous artists across the broad field of popular music: Tom Waits, David Bowie, Björk, Dave Matthews, Nelly Furtado and Amon Tobin are just a few. Their string arrangements of Jimi Hendrix compositions also attracted considerable attention.

Kronos Quartet once again prove that no barriers exist for them. Film, experimental, contemporary, classical or folk music: they move with equal freedom through every field. Beethoven was right: a string quartet can replace an orchestra. Kronos seem to add: we can do much more.

“Floodplain” is intended to illustrate a global intellectual rebirth in a post-apocalyptic landscape. It is a dark, wild, sharply edged record, above all steeped in ethnic traditions, primarily Eastern ones. There are echoes of India, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Kronos Quartet initially sound very classical in both form and tone, but only briefly. They then transform into, by turns, a klezmer group and an ensemble playing classical Indian ragas. Although Kronos are an open-minded group, we associate them mainly with Western classical music. Yet nothing feels inauthentic when Harrington plays a strongly folk-influenced solo on violin or gusle. Indeed, the quartet’s musicians reach beyond violin, viola and cello, demonstrating their skill on tapan, viola ka china and tambourine too.

All this makes “Floodplain” genuine world music. On one hand, it offers a vision of contemporary classical music: restless, neurotic, rough and inaccessible. On the other, it brings folk traditions close to the heart, stories full of warm emotion. Everyone will take something different from this combination: elation? Awakened feelings? Unease? Whatever it is, it will be intense.

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