Kronos Quartet Performs Alfred Schnittke: The Complete String Quartets is a studio album by the Kronos Quartet

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...

. The double CD contains all four of Russian composer Alfred Schnittke

Alfred Schnittke

Alfred Schnittke ; November 24, 1934 – August 3, 1998) was a Russian and Soviet composer. Schnittke's early music shows the strong influence of Dmitri Shostakovich. He developed a polystylistic technique in works such as the epic First Symphony and First Concerto Grosso...

's "startling string quartet

String quartet

A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...

s." String Quartet No.3 was recorded and released in 1988; the other three were recorded between 1994 and 1996 and released in 1998.

Track listing

• Disc one: String Quartet No.1 (1966)—tracks 1–4; String Quartet No.2 (1980)—tracks 5–8; String Quartet No.3 (1983)—tracks 9–11

• Disc two: String Quartet No.4 (1989)

Critical reception

The music of Alfred Schnittke became very popular in the United States in the 1990s, and the Kronos Quartet were among many "influential international figures" who played his music. They had recorded a Schnittke composition (String Quartet No.3) as early as 1988; all four of Schnittke's string quartets had been on the Kronos repertoire at least since 1991. Critics responded quite positively to this recording of the quartets. Lawrence Johnson, writing for the New York Times, said, "As the new Schnittke survey attests, the Kronos can play like demons. . . . The Kronos Quartet has delivered a performance in which every phrase is filled, if not with grief, with profound and resonant meaning." The album was nominated for Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

s in two categories, "Best Classical Album" and "Best Chamber Music Performance."

Musicians

• David Harrington - violin
  Violin
  The 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 - viola
  Viola
  The 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 Jeanrenaud
  Joan Jeanrenaud
  Joan 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...
  
   - cello
  Cello
  The 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...
  
  

Production

• Recorded August 1994 – August 1996 at Skywalker Sound
  Skywalker Sound
  Skywalker 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, California
  Nicasio, California
  Nicasio 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....
  
  
  • Craig Silvey - Engineer
  • Chris Haynes - Assistant engineer (String Quartet No.1, "Canon")
  • Steve Limonoff - Assistant engineer (String Quartet No.2)
  • John Kelpo - Assistant engineer (String Quartet No.4)
  • Jeanne Velonis - Editing assistance (String Quartet No.1 and String Quartet No.4, "Canon")

• String Quartet No. 3 recorded November 1987 at Methuen Memorial Music Hall
  Methuen Memorial Music Hall
  Methuen Memorial Music Hall, initially named Serlo Organ Hall, was built by Edward Francis Searles to house "The Great Organ", a very large pipe organ that had been built for the Boston Music Hall...
  
  , Methuen, Massachusetts
  Methuen, Massachusetts
  Methuen is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 43,789 at the 2000 census.-History:Methuen was first settled in 1642 and was officially incorporated in 1726; it is named for the British diplomat Sir Paul Methuen. Methuen was originally part of Haverhill,...
  
  
  • John Newton - Engineer
  • Mastering of original release: Robert C. Ludwig
  • Previously released on Kronos Quartet, Winter Was Hard
    Winter Was Hard
    Winter Was Hard is a studio album by the Kronos Quartet. It contains compositions by Aulis Sallinen, Terry Riley, Arvo Pärt, Anton Webern, John Zorn, John Lurie, Ástor Piazzolla, Alfred Schnittke, and Samuel Barber.-Track listing:-Critical reception:...