The discography of the Kronos Quartet includes 64 studio albums, 2 compilations, 5 soundtracks, and 29 contributions to other artists' records. The Kronos Quartet plays classical, pop, rock, jazz, folk, world, and contemporary classical music and was founded in 1973 by violinist David Harrington. Since 1978, they have been based in San Francisco, California. Since 1985, the quartet's music has been released on Nonesuch Records.
Early recordings by the quartet contain contemporary classical music and adaptations of more popular music, such as jazz and rock and roll. Since the 1980s, and especially with the release of Cadenza on the Night Plain, written as a collaboration between composer Terry Riley and the quartet, much of the quartet's repertoire and album releases contain music written especially for them by composers such as Riley, Philip Glass, Henryk Górecki, Ástor Piazzolla, Kevin Volans, and Aleksandra Vrebalov. Their music "covers a who's who of 20th century-composers", as one critic noted in 1998.
Kronos has recorded five soundtracks, including the 1998 score by Philip Glass for the scoreless (except for Tchaikovsky title music) 1931 sound movie Dracula, and has contributed to the soundtracks of five other movies, including Heat and 21 Grams. Outside the genre of classical music, Kronos has collaborated with a great number of other artists, especially pop artists, such as Joan Armatrading, Dave Matthews Band, Andy Summers, Nelly Furtado, and Nine Inch Nails.
The quartet has achieved considerable commercial and critical success and by 1998 (the year of the quartet's 25th anniversary) had sold more than 1.5 million albums. Many of Kronos' albums have ranked on various Billboard charts; the 1992 album Pieces of Africa reached #1 in the Top World Albums chart. The quartet won a Grammy for the 2003 album Lyric Suite.
Studio albums
YearAlbum detailsNotes1979 Music of Dane Rudhyar Released: 1979 Label: Composers Recordings, Inc. (CRI) SD 418 Format: LP; later CDTheir first release; includes two string quartets, "Advent" and "Crisis and Overcoming" 1982 In Formation Released: 1982 Label: Reference (#9) Format: LP; CD"In imaging, transient accuracy and timbre, one of the finest string quartet discs ever issued." 1985 Monk Suite: Kronos Quartet Plays Music of Thelonious Monk Released: 1985 Label: Landmark (#1505) Format: LP, CD, MP3Compositions by Thelonious Monk. With Ron Carter (bass improvisation). Re-released in 2005 as CD, on Savoy. Re-issued with Music of Bill Evans on 2CD as 32 Jazz: The Complete Landmark Sessions. 1985 Terry Riley: Cadenza on the Night Plain Released: 1985 Label: Gramavision R2 79444 Format: 2LP, CDCollaboration between composer Terry Riley and the Quartet. "Charming music that grows on one, in really committed performances." Rereleased on CD (Gramavision #18-7014-2), August 1, 1992; rereleased on CD (Hanibal #1509), January 31, 2006. 1986 Music of Bill Evans Released: 1986 Label: Landmark (#1510), Savoy (#17405) Format: LP, CDCompositions written by or associated with Bill Evans. With Jim Hall (guitar) and Eddie Gómez (bass). Leonard Feather gave the album five stars; Stephen Holden, for the New York Times, named it "Jazz Album of the Week." Reissued with Monk Suite on 2CD as 32 Jazz: The Complete Landmark Sessions. 1986 Kronos Quartet Released: August 15, 1986 Label: Nonesuch (#79111) Format: LP, CD, MP3Music by Peter Sculthorpe, Aulis Sallinen, Philip Glass, Conlon Nancarrow, and an arrangement of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze." "The best recorded anthology yet to capture the heady diversity of musical idioms that this San Francisco quartet espouses." 1987 White Man Sleeps Released: July 15, 1987 Label: Nonesuch (#79163) Format: LP, CD, MP3Ten compositions, by Kevin Volans and others. 1988 Winter Was Hard Released: September 30, 1988 Label: Nonesuch (#79181) Format: LP, CD, MP3Music by Aulis Sallinen, Terry Riley, Arvo Pärt, Anton Webern, John Zorn, John Lurie, Ástor Piazzolla, Alfred Schnittke, and Samuel Barber. Listed at #11 in the Los Angeles Times Classical Top 25 of 1989. 1989 Steve Reich: Different Trains/Electric Counterpoint Released: March 3, 1989 Label: Nonesuch (#79176) Format: LP, CD, MP3Two Steve Reich compositions. Kronos Quartet play tracks 1–3 (Different Trains); Pat Metheny (guitar) plays tracks 4–6 (Electric Counterpoint). Different Trains written for the quartet. Listed at #16 in the Los Angeles Times Classical Top 25 of 1989. Reich won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Composition, with Kronos Quartet as performing artist. 1989 Kronos Quartet Plays Terry Riley: Salome Dances for Peace Released: October 27, 1989 Label: Nonesuch (#79127) Format: 2LP, 2CD, MP3Collaboration between the composer and the quartet, nominated for a Grammy. 1990 Black Angels Released: June 29, 1990 Label: Nonesuch (#79242) Format: LP, CD, MP3Includes George Crumb's Black Angels, the inspiration for David Harrington to found the Kronos Quartet. 1991 Witold Lutosławski: String Quartet Released: January 25, 1991 Label: Nonesuch (#79255) Format: CD single, MP3Compositions by Witold Lutosławski. "Integrates notated music with chance performance." 1991 Kevin Volans: Hunting:Gathering Released: January 27, 1991 Label: Nonesuch (#79253) Format: CD single, MP3Composition by South-African composer Kevin Volans, commissioned by the quartet. 1991 Five Tango Sensations Released: January 25, 1991 Label: Nonesuch (#79254) Format: CD, MP3Written for the quartet by Ástor Piazzolla (bandoneón). Piazzolla's last studio recording. 1991 Henryk Mikolaj Górecki: Already It Is Dusk/"Lerchenmusik" Released: May 28, 1991 Label: Nonesuch (#79257) Format: CDTwo compositions by Polish composer Henryk Mikolaj Górecki. "Already It Is Dusk" (String Quartet No. 1, Op. 62, 1988) played by Kronos Quartet; "Lerchenmusik" (Recitatives & Ariosos, Op. 53, for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano, 1984) by the London Sinfonietta.1991 Music of Claude Ballif Released: 1991 Label: Adda MFA 581283 Format: CDQuatuor a cordes No. 3 1992 Pieces of Africa Released: February 21, 1992 Label: Nonesuch (#79275) Format: CD, MP3Music written for the quartet by seven African composers. Reached #1 in Billboards "Top World Albums", and spent 29 weeks on the chart. |- ! 1993 | Short Stories Released: March 5, 1993 Label: Nonesuch (#79310) Format: CD, MP3 | With Steven Mackey (guitar), Pran Nath (voice), Krishma Bhatt (tabla), Terry Riley, and John Constant (tamboura). |- ! 1993 | Henryk Górecki: String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2 Released: June 25, 1993 Label: Nonesuch (#79319) Format: CD, MP3 | Two string quartets "rooted in Polish folk song." |- ! 1993 | At the Grave of Richard Wagner Released: September 24, 1993 Label: Nonesuch (#79318) Format: CD, MP3 | Works by Alban Berg and Anton Webern. With Aki Takahashi (piano) and Marcella DeCray (harp). |- ! 1993 | Morton Feldman: Piano and String Quartet Released: September 24, 1993 Label: Nonesuch (#79320) Format: CD, MP3 | One of Morton Feldman's final works, recorded with pianist Aki Takahashi. |- ! 1993 | Bob Ostertag: All the Rage Released: October 22, 1993 Label: Nonesuch (#79332) Format: CD single, MP3 | Composition by Bob Ostertag, condemning California governor Pete Wilson's veto of pro-gay legislation in 1991; proceeds for AIDS research. |- ! 1994 | Night Prayers Released: September 2, 1994 Label: Nonesuch (#79346) Format: CD, MP3 | Composers of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. With Throat Singers of Tuva, Dawn Upshaw (soprano), Djivan Gasparian (duduk), and Mikhail Alexandrovich (cantor). |- ! 1995 | Kronos Quartet Performs Philip Glass Released: February 3, 1995 Label: Nonesuch (#79356) Format: CD, MP3 | "An ideal combination of composer and performers." Reached #9 in Billboards "Top Classical Albums," and spent 12 weeks on the "Billboard Classical 50" chart. |- ! 1996 | Howl, USA Released: May 31, 1996 Label: Nonesuch (#79372) Format: CD, MP3 | Allen Ginsberg's poem Howl set to music, and other Cold War pieces. With the voices of Allen Ginsberg, J. Edgar Hoover, and I.F. Stone. |- ! 1997 | Osvaldo Golijov: The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind Released: March 14, 1997 Label: Nonesuch (#79444) Format: CD, MP3 | Collaboration with Argentina-born Osvaldo Golijov. With David Krakauer (clarinet). |- ! 1997 | Tan Dun: Ghost Opera Released: March 14, 1997 Label: Nonesuch (#79445) Format: CD, MP3 | Composition for strings and pipa by Tan Dun, performed by Kronos Quartet and Wu Man. |- ! 1997 | Early Music (Lachrymæ Antiquæ) Released: September 12, 1997 Label: Nonesuch (#79457) Format: CD, MP3 | 21 compositions, from the 9th to the 20th century. Critic's Choice in The New York Times. |- ! 1998 | Kronos Quartet Performs Alfred Schnittke: The Complete String Quartets Released: May 15, 1998 Label: Nonesuch (#79500) Format: 2CD, MP3 | "Kronos can play like demons." |- ! 1998 | John Adams: John's Book of Alleged Dances Released: April 21, 1998 Label: Nonesuch (#79465) Format: CD, MP3 | Besides John's Book of Alleged Dances, also contains John Adams' Gnarly Buttons by the London Sinfonietta. |- ! 2000 | Caravan Released: April 7, 2000 Label: Nonesuch (#79490) Format: CD, MP3 | With Zakir Hussain, Taraf de Haïdouks, Kayhan Kalhor, Ziya Tabbassian, Ali Jihad Racy, Souhail Kaspar, and Martyn Jones. Music by ten different composers incl. Carlos Paredes. Reached #4 in Billboards "Top Classical Albums" and stayed on the chart for 15 weeks. |- ! 2001 | Terry Riley: Requiem for Adam Released: September 4, 2001 Label: Nonesuch (#79639) Format: CD, MP3 | Written by Terry Riley in memory of Adam Harrington, David Harrington's son. Also includes "The Philosopher's Hand", piano improvisation by Riley. |- ! 2001 | Steve Reich: Triple Quartet Released: October 16, 2001 Label: Nonesuch (#79546) Format: CD, MP3 | With Dominic Frasca (guitar), Alan Pierson, and the Ossia ensemble (Eastman School of Music). |- ! 2002 | Nuevo Released: April 9, 2002 Label: Nonesuch (#79649) Format: CD, MP3 | Music by Mexican composers: "A full-throttled celebration of the multitextured sounds of Mexico." Reached #8 in Billboard'''s "Top Classical Crossover Albums" and stayed on the chart for 14 weeks. |- ! 2003 | Pēteris Vasks: String Quartet No. 4 Released: August 19, 2003 Label: Nonesuch (#79695) Format: CD single, MP3 | Written by Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks for the quartet; achieves "both feverish intensity and active rumination as the piece requires." |- ! 2003 | Alban Berg: Lyric Suite Released: August 19, 2003 Label: Nonesuch (#79696) Format: CD single, MP3 | Complete recording of Alban Berg's Lyric Suite. Grammy winner for Best Chamber Music Performance, 2004; proves "that the quartet is indeed the 'real thing,' an excellent, multifaceted classical ensemble." With restored setting of Baudelaire's poem "De profundis clamavi", sung by Dawn Upshaw, soprano. |- ! 2003 | Harry Partch: U.S. Highball Released: August 19, 2003 Label: Nonesuch (#79697) Format: CD single, MP3 | Ben Johnston's arrangement of Harry Partch's recollections. "Performed with pitch-perfect spirit." |- ! 2005 | Mugam Sayagi: Music of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh Released: January 11, 2005 Label: Nonesuch (#79804) Format: CD, MP3 | Four works by the Azerbaijani composer Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, three of which ("Oasis" (1998), "Apsheron Quintet" (2001), and "Mugam Sayagi" (1993)) commissioned by the Quartet. Fourth track is Ali-Zadeh's "Music for Piano", which is performed by the composer, who also plays piano on "Apsheron Quintet." Reached #14 in Billboards "Top Classical Albums." |- ! 2005 | You've Stolen My Heart: Songs From R.D. Burman's Bollywood with Asha Bhosle Released: August 23, 2005 Label: Nonesuch (#79856) Format: CD, MP3 | Recorded with Bollywood playback singer Asha Bhosle; tribute to Rahul Dev Burman., nominated for 46th Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary World Music Album. |- ! 2007