At the Grave of Richard Wagner

1993 studio album by Kronos Quartet

Studio album by

Kronos Quartet

Released

24 September 1993 (1993-09-24)

Genre

Contemporary classical

Label

Nonesuch (#79318)

Producer

Judith Sherman

Kronos Quartet chronology

Henryk Górecki: String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2
(1993)

At the Grave of Richard Wagner
(1993)

Morton Feldman: Piano and String Quartet
(1993)

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"^[1] by Franz Liszt.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"At the Grave of Richard Wagner"	Franz Liszt	2:47
2.	"String Quartet, Op. 3: I"	Alban Berg	9:03
3.	"String Quartet, Op. 3: II"	Berg	10:00
4.	"Five Pieces, Op. 5: I"	Anton Webern	2:26
5.	"Five Pieces, Op. 5: II"	Webern	2:22
6.	"Five Pieces, Op. 5: III"	Webern	0:38
7.	"Five Pieces, Op. 5: IV"	Webern	1:43
8.	"Five Pieces, Op. 5: V"	Webern	3:29

Critical reception

According to Alan Artner, writing in the Chicago Tribune, "Few other recorded performances have had qualities of tone conveying as beautifully the scores' ripe, fibrillating atmosphere."^[2] 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."^[1]

Personnel

Musicians

David Harrington – violin
John Sherba – violin
Hank Dutt – viola
Joan Jeanrenaud – cello
Aki Takahashi – piano
Marcella DeCray – harp

Production

Recorded at Skywalker Sound, Nicasio, California
- Bob Edwards, Judith Sherman – Engineers
- Craig Silvey – Assistant Engineer (tracks 1–3)
- Tony Eckert – Assistant Engineer (tracks 4–8)

References

^ ^a ^b Webster, Daniel (1995-12-26). "Quartet Releases Two-Disc Album: Kronos has filled a niche for 10 years". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 2.
^ Artner, Alan G. (1994-02-13). "Liszt: At the Grave of Richard Wagner; Berg: String Quartet, Op. 3; Webern: Five Pieces, Op. 5 Kronos Quartet (Elektra Nonesuch)". Chicago Tribune. p. 28.