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Kronos Collaborator David Lang Awarded Pulitzer; Franghiz Ali-Zadeh Named UNESCO Artist for Peace

Frequent Kronos Quartet collaborator David Lang has been awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his composition The Little Match Girl Passion, which was premiered last October in Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall. Lang's collaborations with Kronos Quartet include the string arrangement for Clint Mansell's Requiem for a Dream score, recorded for Nonesuch, and the opera The Difficulty of Crossing a Field.

Another Kronos collaborator, Azerbaijani composer-pianist Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, recently began a two-year tenure as a UNESCO Artist for Peace, after an April 3 ceremony in Paris. Her works for string quartet and piano were recorded on Kronos Quartet's 2005 album Mugam Sayagi: Music of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh.

The post recognizes Ali Zadeh's "efforts to raise public awareness on musical education for orphans and children in need, her contribution to spreading UNESCO's message of peace and tolerance, and her dedication to the ideals and aims of the Organization," according to UNESCO's website. The composer shares this distinction with an esteemed group of Artists for Peace including Gilberto Gil; Chico Bouchikhi, a founder and former member of the Gipsy Kings; and conductor Valery Gergiev.

Listen to "Reverse Time," movement two from Ali-Zadeh's Apsheron Quintet, with the composer on piano, off Kronos Quartet's Mugam Sayagi:

Kronos Quartet, Glenn Kotche, Punch Bros., Gipsy Kings to Perform at Ravinia 2008

The schedule for the 2008 Ravinia Festival has been announced, and among the 150 events to be held during its run this summer will be performances by Punch Brothers (July 21), The Gipsy Kings (August 2), and Kronos Quartet featuring Glenn Kotche (September 3).

Kronos Quartet perform John Adams's Fellow Traveler, which they recently premiered at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, and will give the Ravinia premiere of Glenn Kotche's Anomaly, with Glenn joining the Quartet for the event. You can read his thoughts on the piece in an essay he wrote for the Nonesuch Journal last year.

For a complete schedule of events for the Ravinia Festival, which runs May 31 through September 14, just outside of Chicago, visit ravinia.org. Tickets go on sale April 17.

While Glenn is performing in New York this week, Kronos is in Nashville for a performance of Terry Riley's Sun Rings with the Vanderbilt University Concert Choir, led by Pamela Schneller, tomorrow night at Vanderbilt's Ingram Hall. The concert will be preceded by a lecture-demonstration tonight, fittingly, at the University's Dyer Observatory; the Quartet will be joined by the Observatory's director, Rick Chappell, whose research centers around the Sun-Earth environment, and former Hubble Space Telescope Chief Scientist Dr. Bob O'Dell. For more information, visit vanderbilt.edu.

From there, Kronos will travel to Germantown, Tennessee, for a performance of works by Sigur Rós, Clint Mansell, and Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, among others, before heading to Springfield, Illinois, where the group will give an encore presentation of Sun Rings, this time with the Springfield Choral Society, led by Marion van der Loo, on Tuesday, March 18. The Springfield Journal-Register gives a preview of the event in an article by arts editor Nick Rogers. In the article, Rogers explores the astronomic roots of Riley's piece, and the Quartet's involvement in its inception. Violinist David Harrington tells Rogers:

As a listener, and a performer, I feel there's this opportunity to think about the world we're all a part of, and I come away from it feeling energized and almost recommitted, really, to the power of what a musical experience can be.

Adds violist Hank Dutt: "I think [Terry] wanted to look at man from the universe's perspective, and that's actually a very humbling experience. And it's more peaceful than anything."

To read the article, visit sj-r.com.

Gipsy Kings Kick Off US Tour

The Gipsy Kings kick off a month-long tour of the United States with a performance tonight at the Opera House in Boston before heading down to Atlantic City this weekend. They'll make their way to New York City on Monday for a return performance at Radio City Music Hall (pictured at right).

For more information on tour dates and venues, click here.