At the Grave of Richard Wagner
Encyclopedia
At the Grave of Richard Wagner is a studio album by the Kronos Quartet
, containing works by Alban Berg
and Anton Webern
, and a brief "romantic elegy" by Franz Liszt
.
, "Few other recorded performances have had qualities of tone conveying as beautifully the scores' ripe, fibrillating atmosphere." Daniel Webster, in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
, wrote that " In traditional repertoire, the Kronos Quartet has its own distinctive voice. It plays Liszt's romantic elegy, 'At the Grave of Richard Wagner,' with rich, dark sounds. The performance of Berg's 'String Quartet (Op. 3)' is precise and the quartet makes Webern's 'Five Pieces (Op 5). sound easy to play as the compositions seem to appear magically, shift color and vanish."
Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
, containing works by Alban Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
and Anton Webern
Anton Webern
Anton Webern was an Austrian composer and conductor. He was a member of the Second Viennese School. As a student and significant follower of Arnold Schoenberg, he became one of the best-known exponents of the twelve-tone technique; in addition, his innovations regarding schematic organization of...
, and a brief "romantic elegy" by Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
.
Track listing
Critical reception
According to Alan Artner, writing in the Chicago TribuneChicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, "Few other recorded performances have had qualities of tone conveying as beautifully the scores' ripe, fibrillating atmosphere." Daniel Webster, in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. It is the primary newspaper in Milwaukee, the largest newspaper in Wisconsin and is distributed widely throughout the state...
, wrote that " In traditional repertoire, the Kronos Quartet has its own distinctive voice. It plays Liszt's romantic elegy, 'At the Grave of Richard Wagner,' with rich, dark sounds. The performance of Berg's 'String Quartet (Op. 3)' is precise and the quartet makes Webern's 'Five Pieces (Op 5). sound easy to play as the compositions seem to appear magically, shift color and vanish."
Musicians
- David Harrington - violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- John Sherba - violin
- Hank Dutt - violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Joan JeanrenaudJoan JeanrenaudJoan Jeanrenaud, née Dutcher , is an American cello player. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, she played with the Kronos Quartet from 1978 until 1999, when, after a sabbatical, she left to pursue a solo career and collaborations with other artists, in part due being diagnosed with multiple...
- celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is... - Aki TakahashiAki Takahashiis a Japanese pianist specializing in contemporary classical music.-Biography:Born in Kamakura, she began studying piano at the age of five and received her M.A. degree from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Her teachers included Yutaka Ito, Ray Lev, and George Vásárhelyi...
- piano - Marcella DeCray - harpHarpThe harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
Production
- Recorded at Skywalker SoundSkywalker SoundSkywalker Sound is the sound effects, sound editing, sound design, sound mixing and music recording division of George Lucas' Lucas Digital motion picture group. Its main facilities are located in Lucas Valley, near Nicasio, California...
, Nicasio, CaliforniaNicasio, CaliforniaNicasio is a census-designated place in Marin County, California. It is located west-southwest of Novato, at an elevation of 194 feet . The population was 96 at the 2010 census....
- Bob Edwards, Judith Sherman - Engineers
- Craig Silvey - Assistant Engineer (tracks 1-3)
- Tony Eckert - Assistant Engineer (tracks 4-8)