Listening as an ethical practice with David Harrington

‘Musicians are trained to listen, and the best of us try to communicate what we hear, both from the world around us and from inside ourselves.’ David Harrington is a violinist and the founding member of Kronos Quartet.

In this episode, Rob Young meets Harrington to talk about Kronos’ long-standing commitment to contemporary music, listening as an ethical practice, and the quartet’s constant search for new sounds and new collaborators. The conversation centres on Elja, a new work created with Norwegian composers Benedicte Maurseth and Kristine Tjøgersen, inspired by the vast mountain plateau of Hardangervidda.

Harrington reflects on playing newly developed Hardanger instruments, on learning from tradition while opening it to new sonic worlds, and on why music, in unstable times, can still bring people together and help us listen more closely to the world around us.

Produced by Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival

Written and presented by Rob Young

Edited by Solveig Sørbø

Theme music by Kristine Tjøgersen

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