Music

Iconic storyteller and musician Laurie Anderson and ground-breaking ensemble Kronos Quartet unite for their first-ever collaboration, inspired by Anderson’s experience of Hurricane Sandy. Anderson & Kronos have created an evocative meditation on transience, combining poignant texts and music fortified by innovative technology. Landfall juxtaposes lush electronics and traditional strings by Kronos with Anderson’s powerful descriptions of loss, from water-logged pianos to disappearing animal species to Dutch karaoke bars. Dense projected texts, triggered musically via software developed for the work, overlay and compound Anderson’s tales, leaving a polyphony of meanings to percolate in the vivid wake of the storm. 

Laurie Anderson is one of America’s most renowned—and daring—creative pioneers. Her work, which encompasses music, visual art, poetry, film, and photography, has challenged and delighted audiences around the world for more than 30 years. She is best known for her multimedia presentations and musical recordings. Anderson’s first album, O Superman, launched her recording career in 1980, rising to number two on the British pop charts and subsequently appearing on her landmark release Big Science. She went on to record six more albums with Warner Brothers. Anderson’s Nonesuch recordings include Life on a String, Live in New York, a reissue of Big Science, and 2010’s Homeland.

For over 40 years, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet—David Harrington, John Sherba (violins), Hank Dutt (viola), and Sunny Yang (cello)—has pursued a singular artistic vision, combining a spirit of fearless exploration with a commitment to continually re-imagining the string quartet experience. In the process, Kronos has become one of the most celebrated and influential groups of our time, performing thousands of concerts worldwide and collaborating with many of the world's most intriguing and accomplished composers and performers. In 2011, Kronos became the only recipients of both the Polar Music Prize and the Avery Fisher Prize, two of the most prestigious awards given to musicians. The group’s numerous awards also include a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance (2004) and "Musicians of the Year" (2003) from Musical America. Kronos Quartet debuted at BAM during the 1986 Next Wave Festival. Other BAM appearances include Awakening: A Musical Meditation on the Anniversary of 9/11 (2011 Next Wave), Kronos Quartet: More Than Four (2007 Next Wave), Sun Rings (2004 Next Wave), Dracula: the Music and Film (1999 Next Wave), Kronos Quartet 25th Anniversary (1998 Next Wave), and Kronos Quartet 95 (Spring 1995). Nonesuch, the quartet’s longtime label, celebrated the ensemble’s remarkable curiosity in the group’s 40th anniversary year with two releases: the Kronos Explorer Series five-CD box set and a new album, A Thousand Thoughts; they were the 46th and 47th records Kronos has released on Nonesuch since 1985.