Kronos Quartet Plays Works by Riley, Glass

The Kronos Quartet brought their usual blend of polish and carefully chosen new music to Wadsworth Theater in Westwood on Saturday night. In an often captivating, sometimes tame program, the ensemble--David Harrington, John Sherba, Hank Dutt and Joan Jeanrenaud--smoothly presented two recent works by pioneers of the minimalist movement, two premieres, an early work by Webern and a set of blues arrangements.

Terry Riley’s “Good Medicine,” from the larger work “Salome Dances for Peace,” best demonstrated the ensemble’s masterful interpretive skills. Not bounded by the limiting rules of minimalism, Riley makes use of the repetitive textures of his early work, but has found more focused, clearly defined expressive avenues.

The fourth String Quartet by Philip Glass--dedicated to the late artist Brian Buczak--was also given apt, reverent attention. Brahmsian chord progressions and carefully placed bits of polytonality were welcome additions to Glass’ signature style of repeating patterns, compound rhythms and simple harmonies.

World premieres of Jose Evangelista’s four-movement study in modal heterophony, “Monody Quartet,” and Istvan Marta’s mix of musique concrete and Hungarian folk music, “Doom. (Sigh),” provided attractive, more conventional fare. Steven Mackey’s inventive arrangements of blues songs by Willie Dixon proved virtuosic, though eventually tiresome for the listener.

An odd tango with manic glissandos and other humorous excesses by Astor Piazzolla was presented in encore.