{"id":87659,"date":"2022-12-02T14:00:19","date_gmt":"2022-12-02T19:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=87659"},"modified":"2022-12-05T19:17:01","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T00:17:01","slug":"interview-tanya-tagaq-members-kronos-quartet-talk-toronto-performances-21c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2022\/12\/02\/interview-tanya-tagaq-members-kronos-quartet-talk-toronto-performances-21c\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Tanya Tagaq, Members Of Kronos Quartet Talk About Their Toronto Performances In 21C"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Kronos
Kronos Quartet and Tanya Tagaq (Photo: Lisa Sakulensky)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The renowned Kronos Quartet will be in the spotlight for the 2022\/23 21C Music Festival, including a special performance with Tanya Tagaq. Their three-day residency kicks off 21C on December 6, 2022.<\/p>\n

Among the many other reasons to take it in, it will also be the last chance to see Kronos in its current configuration. Cellist Sunny Yang will be leaving at the end of January 2023 after a decade-long stint with the ensemble. (She\u2019ll be replaced by cellist\/composer Paul Wiancko, who will join Kronos in February.)<\/p>\n

We caught up with members of Kronos and Tanya Tagaq to talk about their upcoming shows.<\/p>\n

Kronos Quartet\/Kronos Performing Arts Organization<\/h3>\n

Violist Hank Dutt<\/strong> has been part of Kronos almost since its inception. \u201cI joined in 1977,\u201d he recalls. As he points out, after 1978, there was a 20 year period where the quartet maintained the same personnel \u2014 it allowed for their extraordinary growth both as performers and activists on the world stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a marriage,\u201d Dutt says of their chemistry. \u201cIt can be a great experience when you have like-minded people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The quartet\u2019s mission developed over the decades. \u201cIn the very beginning, we played everything,\u201d Hank recounts. \u201cBut, we always had an affinity for contemporary music.\u201d<\/p>\n

They couldn\u2019t help but notice, however, that so many other ensembles were playing the same centuries old repertoire. Coupled with that fact, introducing new music caused a kind of friction among the audience. \u201cThere was kind of a fight between them,\u201d he says of the traditionalists vs those who could appreciate new music. \u201cThere was a weird vibe in the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

It led to Kronos\u2019 commitment to contemporary music. \u201cWe felt we didn\u2019t really need to do the classical or romantic period,\u201d he says. It wasn\u2019t only the principle, however, it was the sheer diversity of contemporary music that drew their interest. \u201cI think that contemporary music has such a bad name when we started out.\u201d From there, they branched into experimentation with global music genres. \u201cWe kind of expanded into the world music genre. It\u2019s been very exciting to work with composers from around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Violinist David Harrington<\/strong> founded Kronos Quartet back in 1972. For David, the quartet\u2019s mission was also a way to incorporate a fascination with elements other than strictly repertoire \u2014 such as science \u2014 into the music. \u201cI’d think, wow, this is really cool. How can that fit into a musical experience?\u201d<\/p>\n

For him, music is in and of the world, and must concern itself with that world. \u201cWhat musician in the world could not be concerned, for example, with the violence that\u2019s happening in the Ukraine?\u201d he asks. \u201cClimate change? What\u2019s happening in the forests? So many of us play instruments that are made of various woods,\u201d he points out. \u201cWhen you hear that the forests in the Amazon that have traditionally been harvested to make the best bows or stringed instruments \u2014 the figure I heard is that there are 1,800 pernambuco trees left,\u201d he says. \u201c1,800 for the world of bowed string players \u2014 that\u2019s a crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continues, \u201cMusicians have to be activists. We need peace, we need quiet places to play concerts, safe places. Music that represents humanity has to represent human rights. It\u2019s not a big stretch to think that the music that Kronos is a part of should be involved in activating, energizing our audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kronos
Kronos Quartet, ‘A Thousand Thoughts’ (Photo courtesy of 21C Music Festival)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Thousand Thoughts \u2014 A live documentary with the Kronos Quartet<\/h3>\n

On December 6<\/strong>, Kronos will be performing live alongside the documentary A Thousand Thoughts<\/em>, written and directed by Sam Green and Joe Bini. Live narration also accompanies the screening\/performance.<\/p>\n

David describes the live documentary concept. \u201cThere is a set list, soundtrack, that gets, I guess you would say, injected into the visuals at agreed upon points,\u201d he says. \u201cAt the 40th year of Kronos, we wanted something that would give our audiences a sense of some of the things we\u2019d done up to that point.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project began as a short film, but Green quickly saw the possibility for a full-length feature. \u201cIt was through spending hours and days in and around our rehearsals, our archives, our staff, our composers, that he thought, well maybe he could do something more expansive,\u201d David says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very interesting,\u201d Hanks says of the film \u201cIn the very beginning, I was kind of against this project. I\u2019m a very private person.\u201d It was filmmaker Sam Green who made the difference. \u201cSam was so convincing, and also he used a lot of integrity,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

For the quartet, the film is a kind of look back on what they\u2019ve accomplished so far. For fans, it\u2019s a way of getting closer to them as people. \u201cI was surprised at the reaction,\u201d Hanks says. For the Sundance Film Festival premiere in 2018, Kronos performed with the film twice. \u201cThe audience was incredible,\u201d he says, calling it \u201can emotional experience.\u201d It reveals the human side of the musicians on stage. \u201cI think, perhaps, they respond to the integrity of the work,\u201d he says. It\u2019s a reaction that has recurred with each performance. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of fun to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fun to play because a lot of our audience have come to our work at various moments in the last 49 years,\u201d David says. \u201cSometimes, learning new things about a group or music that you\u2019ve been drawn to is a fun thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kronos
Kronos Quartet at 21C 2016 (Photo: Lisa Sakulensky)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kronos Quartet with students from the Glenn Gould School: Fifty Forward<\/h3>\n

After two days of mentorship, Kronos Quartet will perform alongside students from the Glenn Gould School on December 8<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Education and outreach to young musicians is a big part of Kronos\u2019 ongoing mission. \u201cFirst of all, there\u2019s no end of things that can be talked about with music,\u201d David says. \u201cThat\u2019s the way music works.\u201d<\/p>\n

That focus is what led to Kronos’ Fifty for the Future<\/strong> program. The initiative compiled a library of 50 contemporary works that are designed to guide string quartets in developing the skills necessary to interpret 21st century repertoire.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find it one of our greatest projects that we\u2019ve ever done,\u201d Hank says. \u201cWe now have all 50 Futures online,<\/a> which feels terrific.\u201d As he notes, the pieces can be downloaded free of charge, and there are tutorials available online to help with skills development. \u201cIt\u2019s sort of what we can give back to the community.\u201d Hank says he has fond memories of working with Toronto students, and of their abilities, on previous visits.<\/p>\n

For him, coaching young musicians in the music is also part of his process. The students will be performing pieces from the Fifty for the Future repertoire. \u201cI learn so much from the people who are playing the music,\u201d he says. There is something new and inspiring about each interpretation. \u201cThat\u2019s very exciting for me to see that,\u201d he adds. \u201cI love coaching.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kronos will joining them to premiere a piece with flexible instrumentation as a septet, then finish with a Philip Glass quartet. \u201cIt\u2019s just a gem of a work,\u201d Hank says.<\/p>\n

\"Tanya
Tanya Tagaq (Photo: Rebecca Wood)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Music for Change \u2014 With Tanya Tagaq<\/h3>\n

Kronos Quartet \u2014 Music for Change<\/em> is the title of the third concert on December 9<\/strong>. The program features pieces by Steve Reich and Stacy Garrop, along with an arrangement of Star-Spangled Banner<\/em> inspired by Jimi Hendrix’ famous Woodstock performance.<\/p>\n

Also on the bill is Mishra Pilu<\/em><\/a>, a piece by Indian composer Aruna Narayan that was written for Kronos’ Fifty for the Future program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re playing a piece by Aruna Narayan<\/strong> \u2014 with her. She\u2019s an incredible composer,\u201d Hank says. He notes that Kronos performed a piece by her father Ram Narayan about 14 years ago. \u201cIt was the beginning of our understanding of Indian music,\u201d he says. Ram Narayan first popularized the stringed sarangi, and Aruna has continued in that tradition. \u201cShe\u2019s an incredible player,\u201d Hanks says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a marvellous musician Aruna is,\u201d David echoes. It will also be a first. \u201cWe\u2019ve never performed with her,\u201d he says. They\u2019ll be playing a new version of her composition.<\/p>\n

Other works on the program include pieces by Abel Meeropol and Zacharyu James Watkins. With the exception of the Reich piece, all of the works were either written for or arranged by Kronos.<\/p>\n

A world premiere performance of Tanya Tagaq\u2019s Colonizer<\/em> remix with Kronos rounds out the first half of the program. Tanya and Kronos have a working connection that goes back several years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started off a really long time ago on a project we simply called Nunavut<\/em>,\u201d Tanya Tagaq<\/strong> recalls. \u201cI just love working with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tanya\u2019s composition Sivunittinni<\/a><\/em> is included in Kronos\u2019 Fifty for the Future project. It was particularly significant. \u201cThey helped me step into my role as composer,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Tanya Tagaq performs with Kronos Quartet at 21C Music Festival in 2016:<\/em><\/p>\n