Kronos Quartet
- In Accord
Piazzolla - Four, for Tango *
Riley, Cadenza on the Night Plain
* Ueda - Hamza el Din: Escalay
* Zorn - Cat O' Nine Tails *
Adams - John's Book of Alleged
Dances * Hildegard von Bingen -
O Virtus Sapientie *
Partch - Two Studies on Ancient
Greek Scales * Perotin - Viderunt
Omnes * Schnittke - Collected
Songs Where Every Verse is Filled With Grief *
Ortiz - Altar de Muertos *
Hendrix - Purple Haze
DVD written and directed by Manfred Waffender
16:9 anamorphically enhanced for widescreen television * PCM stereo
Arthaus Musik
100 050 * [56
minutes]
Crotchet
£18.99
It might seem like stating the obvious, but this disc is really for fans,
and I use the word advisedly, of the Kronos Quartet. Essentially this is
a classical music rock video, short pieces by various composers performed
in a studio setting, alternating with different members of the band sat in
a theatre seat talking straight to camera about the music. They don't talk
in any real depth, affably making observations about their relationship as
musicians with various composers.
The music itself is a typically, deliberately eclectic selection, ranging
from Hildegard von Bingen to Astor Piazzolla, the majority of the pieces
being from the modern (post-modern) repertoire, some written for the Kronos
Quartet. The performances are typically bold and direct, so it is a shame
that the speech is sometimes introduced before the music has had a chance
to finish, reinforcing the rock music video / TV show sensibility. As such
it is an interesting programme to watch, particularly as the members of the
band all seem very down-to-earth, pleasantly unpretentious people, but the
self-consciously pop-art video stylising becomes increasingly irritating
with repeated viewing. Manfred Waffender can't resist using every hackneyed
trick in the video director's book, with such devices as alternating in focus
and deeply out-of-focus shots of the Quartet in the Piazzolla only serving
to distract from the music and draw attention to the nature of the imagery.
The later Hamza el Din: Escalay (realised by Tohru Ueda) flows
attractively, but is marred visually because footage originally shot in Academy
ratio has been cropped and awkwardly reformatted to the same widescreen ratio
as the main programme.
The programme runs just over 56 minutes and offers no special features on
the disc (unless you count subtitles in French and German), though the booklet
contains notes on each composer. The picture is pin-sharp, presented at 16:9
and is anamorphically enhanced for widescreen television. The sound,
disappointingly for a 1998 production is only in PCM stereo, but it is very
clear and forward, as befits the nature of the music. As I suggested at the
beginning, how much you will appreciate this really does depend on your empathy
for the ethos of the Kronos Quartet. Many will simply find it too gimmicky,
and the music too negligible to warrant serious attention.
Gary S.
Dalkin
