Combining a fearless dedication to experimentation and a fresh emphasis on visual presentation, the San Francisco-based Kronos Quartet has emerged as a leading voice for new music. Its eclectic body of work, unparalleled in its range of expression, has captured the attention of audiences worldwide and earned five Grammy Award nominations. This dynamic recording features the Kronos Quartet playing George Crumb's musical response to the Vietnam War, "Black Angels," in which whispered and shrieked texts, demonic fiddling, and solemn episodes of piety express the relentless horror and senseless grief of war. The quartet also performs Tan Dun's "Ghost Opera," a blend of sophisticated techniques with folk traditions which required the musicians to become peformance artists, chanting text and playing a variety of instruments from gongs dipped in water to finger-cymbals. An electrifying theatrical experience!