Iranian of the Day

For more than 30 years, the Kronos Quartet—David Harrington, John Sherba (violins), Hank Dutt (viola) and Jeffrey Zeigler (cello)—has pursued a singular artistic vision, combining a spirit of fearless exploration with a commitment to expanding the range and context of the string quartet. In the spring 2010, Kronos Quartet and San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts co-commissioned a piece by Sahba Aminikia called "A Threnody for Those Who Remain; "صهبا امینی کیا: مرثیه ایی برای بازماندگان" which is going to be premiered at Novellus Theatre in Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on October 28th and 29th, 8:00 pm. This is the first time that the Kronos has ever commissioned a young Iranian composer to write a piece for them. The piece uses the element of Bushehr music, ambient sounds from Tehran, the 80's propaganda and tv programs and the call of prayer. The general idea for the piece circles around "losing a loved one" and trying to "accept and overcome" the fact which drives us to the idea that this overcome will never happen.