In which container do we put the last album of the Kronos Quartet? Many CD sellers are probably wondering. With the string quartets or modern classical? Maybe with world music? Asian folk music? Pop? There is something to be said about all choices, but that is also the beauty of this music: four free spirits who travel to places where musical boxes cannot possibly exist. For this album, the quartet
… (two violinists, one cellist and one violinist) collaborated with artists from Asia, the Middle East, the Balkans and Ethiopia. The group travels to a new destination with each number. Despite the diverse collaborations, Floodplain still sounds like a unity. The common thread, according to the quartet itself, is the fact that the music comes from the regions where the earliest human settlements arose. Could be, but the real thread on this album seems to be the Kronos Quartet itself. With respect and love, they provide these often age-old traditionals with an exciting new life. (PdK)more
