To celebrate their 40th anniversary, the legendary Kronos Quartet asked 50 composers from all over the world to compose a string quartet. Resulting in a library of 50 contemporary pieces: ’50 for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire’. Designed to guide string quartets in developing and honing the skills required for the performance of 21st-century repertoire.

These 50 pieces reflect the rich sound of the world and together form an unprecedentedly versatile and up-to-date kaleidoscope of today’s string quartet. ‘Each piece is a real piece, a real investment in making a future in music possible’
– David Harrington, Kronos Quartet

Watch a documentary on the project, the composers, the quartets and the weekend organized by the String Quartet Biennale last May on youtube via this links: episode 1, episode 2, episode 3, episode 4, episode 5 and episode 6.

In the context of 50 For the Future, the Ragazze Quartet has, together ground-breaking composer and violist Garth Knox, released an album with Knox’s most recent works. On this album you will find ‘Four Into Twenty’, written specifically for the Ragazze Quartet, as well as ‘Satellites’, commissioned by the Kronos Quartet and ‘Quartet for One’, performed by Knox himself, where each string of a viola represents a member of the string quartet. Listen to the album on Spotify or order your CD by sending an email to ragazze@ragazzequartet.nl (€18 + shipping costs). For more information on the album see our Music page.

Line-up string quartets weekend Philharmonie Paris:

Agate Quartet – Ragazze Quartet – Zaïde Quartet – Métamorphoses Quartet – Mona Quartet – Signum Quartett