Q: How did this idea of blending music and conversation on stage first come to you?

David Harrington: It goes way back to 2003. David Barsamian, the founder and leader of Alternative Radio, had introduced me to [historian and activist] Howard Zinn, whom David had interviewed many times. I ended up in Howard’s office [for a conversation], and he was so amazingly helpful to me. And I thought, “I want to share this experience with our audience.” And another thing: if you listen to Alternative Radio, they use Kronos music as their theme music—Mai Nozipo [by Dumisani Maraire, from the 1992 album Pieces of Africa]. Everything led to, “Let’s try to do something like this live.” So that’s what we did, at Zankel Hall, in 2006: Howard Zinn, Alternative Radio, Kronos. We played two one-hour live radio shows. And later we did that in Vienna, Austria, as well. And it was incredibly beautiful and satisfying, and it felt like our audience was getting the news—they were getting the real news.

Q: So with that format in mind, how did you decide upon the particular historical topics of conversation to explore in the upcoming Kronos Festival?

DH: It occurred to me that there are events that have happened in San Francisco, right where we live, right where members of our audience live, that many of us don’t even know about. And I found out about them from my daughter Bonnie, who was a third-grade teacher. One day, she handed me one of her class books and said, “Dad you’ve got to read this book.” And it was about Wong Kim Ark and his court case [Editor’s note: an important 1898 Supreme Court Decision confirming birthright citizenship for Chinese Americans]. I had never heard about Wong Kim Ark, and by the time I finished reading this book, I thought, “How come I didn’t know about this case?” So that was the seed that got planted for me. And actually, the very same thing happened with the Fred Korematsu case [Editor’s note: the 1944 Supreme Court decision upholding the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II—overturned in 1983 thanks to the efforts of San Francisco lawyer (and Kronos Festival guest speaker) Dale Minami and his team.

So the idea that adults can get important information from third-grade books is at the heart of this. And the idea of bringing conversation about topics that all of us can learn from and can strengthen our knowledge of our own society—that’s what has led to these two closing parts of our first two concerts.

Q: Can you talk about your early days with Kronos? Back then, no one else was working with living composers on brand new commissions to the level you were. Did you have a sense of just how outside of the box you were?

JS: It’s interesting because when I came out to do my audition for the quartet, way back in 1978, I actually had not heard of the Kronos Quartet. But I was playing in a quartet with somebody who was from San Francisco and wanted to go back to San Francisco very, very much. This was in Milwaukee. And so we both went out, and I got to stay. And there was a point where I remember thinking in my mind, “You know, I really want this.” I just felt that everybody had the same viewpoint. We wanted to accomplish something, something unique and different and really make a mark in music. And I sensed that. And even more so, we all really wanted to perform. I remember that first year in the quartet, even though our sphere, the circle where we performed, was not very wide… I remember our first concert in Seattle, that was a big deal. Our first concert in Contra Costa… It was a big deal, just going across the Bay Bridge [laughs]. But we had the spirit of really wanting to share our music with other people and develop an audience. And so even in that first year, I think we did around 80 concerts. And that’s been kind of the norm throughout the years. And so I really wanted this, and I was just thrilled when they asked me to stay.

HD: When you’re a musician, you’re always looking to better yourself. You’re practicing—you practice all the time. You work alone, and you raise your level to a certain extent. There’s always a way to play it differently or better, and so you never reach perfection. You can get close, I think. But there’s always a striving to do better and play it better. And when you have colleagues that are helping you along, that is really ideal, because you have other ears to say, “Oh, try it this way,” or “Have you thought about the character a different way?” or whatever. And so as I said about my mentor back at school, he was such a beautiful coach, and he was inspiring at the same time as giving us great advice on how to play certain things. And [in Kronos] we try to retain that idea of helping each other along the road. It seemed very natural to have the composer involved in rehearsals, because they could then give you insight into the work. You could play it a certain way, and they’d say, “Oh, you know that doesn’t sound right to me. Could you try it shorter?,” or “The reason behind this is the character,” and then you play it differently because the person has given you a way to think, or an image, so that you can better interpret the work. And you feel like it’s congealed because the five of you have worked so hard in getting it into a good place. And so it seemed natural. I didn’t say, at the time, “Well, this is something that’s unique.” It just seemed natural as part of being a musician, of trying to get things better.

Cowperthwaite started working with Kronos while studying for her bachelor’s degree in Communications and Journalism at San Francisco State University, soon becoming KPAA’s first Managing Director, and later, its founding Executive Director. Over the years, she built KPAA’s budget, programs, and staff, sculpting a nimble and proactive nonprofit organization of unprecedented scope – managing a top-tier touring and recording ensemble, commissioning 1,100 new works and arrangements, presenting an annual festival, and producing an array of education programs. She has arranged thousands of concerts for Kronos in the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals, overseen recording projects resulting in 70+ releases with cumulative sales of more than four million units (more than any string quartet in history), and developed a robust fundraising operation that includes individual gifts and grants from government agencies and prestigious foundations.

“When I first met the quartet, I could not have imagined the amazing world that would unfold,” said Cowperthwaite. “It has been a privilege and honor to work with Kronos, one of the most important, creative forces of our time. They are incredible musicians and I have always been grateful for their trust and friendship. I have deeply valued the talented and committed KPAA staff, past and present – without which none of the successes would have been possible – and our Board of Directors, a steadfast foundation of support over the years. Our collective efforts have brought a lot of wonderful music into the world. It’s been thrilling to have a life in the arts, to grow up with this band, to work with hundreds of remarkable artists, and to create treasured relationships with countless colleagues. I will begin my next chapter with a great sense of accomplishment, and I wish Kronos and KPAA continued success as they move forward into an exciting future.”

“Janet’s example as an artistic community member – somehow pulling together the magical balance of impactful leadership, boundless imagination, meaningful lifelong relationships, humility, and genuine love for the people and sounds around her – is one that I find especially unique to her,” said Pulitzer Prize finalist, composer Mary Kouyoumdjian. “I’m so very grateful for her decades of unwavering work to create an artistic landscape that is more open and vibrant, for all of us.”

Robert Hurwitz, the President of Nonesuch (Kronos’ longtime record label) from 1984–2017, commented, “Artists and record companies rarely stay together more than five or ten years; Nonesuch and Kronos worked together over four decades and produced close to 50 albums. Janet made endless contributions that helped make that rare achievement possible.”

Cowperthwaite’s role as a creative producer of Kronos projects began in 1987 with the evening length work Live Video, designed by Larry Neff. The production of many other important multidisciplinary works followed, including Terry Riley’s Sun Rings, with visual design by Willie Williams, At War With Ourselves-400 Years of You, with music by Michael Abels and text by Nikky Finney, and A Thousand Thoughts, written and directed by Sam Green and Joe Bini.

“Long before the curtains opened on our eight-year project, At War With Ourselves,” wrote National Book Award–winning poet Nikky Finney, “Janet was the human beehive directing where the music and words might best incubate and commingle. She’s exceptional with people and has a holistic understanding of what is needed from every angle of the performance. Behind the stage, on stage, even after the performance. Eyes, ears, heart, listening out for the sacred honey.”

Kronos will enter its sixth decade with two new members: violinist Gabriela Díaz and violist Ayane Kozasa will join Harrington and Wiancko. 

A fierce champion of contemporary music, Gabriela Díaz has worked closely with many significant composers on their own compositions, including Pierre Boulez, Jessie Montgomery, Alvin Lucier, Unsuk Chin, John Zorn, Joan Tower, Roger Reynolds, Chaya Czernowin, Steve Reich, Tania León, Brian Ferneyhough, and Helmut Lachenmann. A native of Georgia, she is the concertmaster of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), and a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble and A Far Cry. Critics have acclaimed her as “a young violin master,” and “one of Boston’s most valuable players.” She teaches at Wellesley College and the Longy School of Music at Bard College, and is the co-artistic director of the chamber music and outreach organization Winsor Music.

Hailed for her “magnetic, wide-ranging tone” and her “rock solid technique” (Philadelphia Inquirer), Ayane Kozasa is a sought-after chamber musician, collaborator, and educator. She is a founding member of the award-winning Aizuri Quartet, which she belonged to for eleven years. A winner of the Primrose International Viola Competition, she has commissioned multiple new works featuring the viola. Currently, she is a member of the duo Ayane & Paul with Paul Wiancko. Together, the two collaborated on Norah Jones’ album Pick Me Up Off the Floor, and are also part of Owls, a quartet collective with violinist Alexi Kenney and cellist Gabriel Cabezas. Active in mentoring young musicians, she is on the viola faculty of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and has been guest faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Northwestern University.

Said David Harrington, “And now Paul and I happily welcome Gabriela and Ayane to the Kronos family! We are inspired and thrilled by the imagination, skill, and bold ideas that they will bring to the future work of Kronos. This next chapter will be full of big adventures–stay tuned!”

Born in Kansas to an Episcopalian minister and largely self-taught as a composer, Moondog wrote dozens of beautiful songs, madrigals, and symphonies which drew inspiration from classical, jazz, Native American music, Latin American music, and Indian ragas. Blinded as a teenager, he moved to New York City in the late 40s and lived there until 1972, during which time he was often found on 6th Avenue appearing in a cloak and horned helmet by thousands of passersby and residents unaware of his musical career. He became an underground folk hero in New York City after he signed with Columbia and released his 1969 record Moondog. He moved to Germany in the 70s and lived there until his death in 1999.

Ghost Train Orchestra and Kronos Quartet recorded before and during the pandemic to bring to life new vivid arrangements of Moondog’s music by musical director Brian Carpenter and members of Ghost Train Orchestra Matt Bauder, David Cossin, Curtis Hasselbring, Andy Laster, and Maxim Moston. These new arrangements provide a new vision into the world of Moondog, expanding the darkness, beauty, and humor in the original pieces (in some cases originally written for solo piano and newly arranged for orchestra.)

Five releases are scheduled for the KRONOS Five Decades season. New recordings include Michael Gordon’s Campaign Songs (Cantaloupe, July 21); Songs and Symphoniques: The Music of Moondog (Cantaloupe, September 29); and Red Hot + Ra, featuring the music of Sun Ra (Red Hot, Spring 2024). Nonesuch will reissue two essential catalog items: Kronos Quartet Performs Philip Glass, available for the first time on vinyl (November 3), and George Crumb’s Black Angels, a vinyl reissue (February 16).

Gordon’s Campaign Songs, to be released on 7-inch vinyl, is a set of eight short pieces premiered online between October and November 2020 with the intention of galvanizing voter turnout in the 2020 election. These include Gordon’s arrangements of This Land is Your Land, God Bless America, When Johnny Comes Marching Home, America the Beautiful, and The Star-Spangled Banner. 

Songs and Symphoniques: The Music of Moondog presents Kronos in collaboration with Ghost Train Orchestra, and features brilliant new reimaginings of the music of Louis Hardin (aka Moondog), the blind composer who lived on the streets of Manhattan during the mid-20th century, dressed in striking Viking attire while selling his records and reciting poetry. His beautiful and haunting madrigals, songs, and “symphoniques” inspired many musicians, including Steve Reich, who called Moondog “the godfather of minimalism.” 

Red Hot + Ra, part of the acclaimed Red Hot series, will pay tribute to the visionary composer Sun Ra with a selection of pieces and new remixes curated by Kronos. Set to be released on vinyl and streaming platforms in the Spring of 2024, this Kronos album will be one of several volumes in the Red Hot + Ra series, which aims to raise awareness about climate justice following the words and spirit of Sun Ra.

The two Nonesuch albums spotlight works that are crucial to the group’s history: George Crumb’s Black Angels, which inspired David Harrington to form Kronos; and the iconic quartets of Philip Glass, which have figured prominently in Kronos’ repertoire since the 1980s.

As a special anniversary bonus, Kronos will release five playlists from the group’s recordings on the Nonesuch label, curated by David Harrington. Each will represent a different decade of the quartet’s history, from the 70s through the present. New installments will be released monthly from September 2023 through January 2024.