There are many reasons to go to Lincoln Center, but for me, dance isn't typically one of them. Mind you, I don't have anything against dance - it's perhaps the most arresting and physically impressive of all the performing arts - but...well, this is a live music website. And unfortunately, it's become a rare occasion to hear interesting - let alone live - music at dance performances these days. (Sorry, I don't do Tchiakovsky.)

But Saturday night, I made an exception to go see the Paul Taylor Dance Company, who are currently holding their annual residency at the David H. Koch Theater. Taylor was one of the most prolific choreographers of the last half of the 20th century, producing nearly 150 works that combine the muscular elements of modern dance with the elegance of traditional ballet. Since 2015, the company has also presented the works of other choreographers (Taylor died in 2018), and last year named Lauren Lovette, former principal dancer with New York City Ballet, as its resident choreographer.

Saturday's program opened with the world premiere of Lovette's "Echo", an all-male dance inspired by her visit to a maximum security prison. (If you're interested in the dance aspects of "Echo", you can read about it in the Times here.) The music she chose was Kevin Puts' Contact (2022): a triple concerto written for the dynamic young string trio Time For Three, who performed here live with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, conducted by David LaMarche.

"I could live to be 500, and I don’t think I’d run out of things to do in music." - David Harrington

Unlike rock bands such as the Rolling Stones or The Who, a 50th anniversary isn't unheard of in the world of string quartets. The Emerson Quartet just played its final shows after 47 years; the Juilliard Quartet is still going strong well into its ninth decade (though without any of its original members.)

So, on its surface, Friday night's concert at Carnegie Hall celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Kronos Quartet wasn't really remarkable. Until you stop to think about all that they've accomplished in that half-century: some fifty studio and soundtrack recordings, more than 1,000 commissions of new works, countless performances across six continents (including 43 at Carnegie Hall alone), collaborations with everyone from Steve Reich to Sigur Rós.

"They have changed the way we see string quartets, and altered the course of music history, forever." WNYC host John Schaefer declared during his onstage introduction. 

Founded in Seattle in 1973 by first violinist and artistic director David Harrington (whom I interviewed backstage at the Big Ears Festival back in 2015), Kronos added John Sherba (violin) and Hank Dutt (viola) after moving to San Francisco in 1977. All three remain, along with cellist Paul Wiancko, who joined the quartet earlier this year, replacing Sunny Wang. Paul has somehow already made it into an updated version of Sam Green's Kronos documentary "A Thousand Thoughts," an excerpt of which was screened. The film sought to explain Harrington's ceaseless crate digging, his never-ending quest to find the next novel sound, regardless of genre or background.  

"We haven't yet found the bulletproof piece of music that can wrap itself around us," he said in a voiceover. "But I think it's possible, and I spend every minute of my waking life trying to find it. That's our job."

There seems to be an overflow of musical treats on offer in NYC this week. And none of them have anything to do with ghouls or goblins. 

Thursday, 11/2

Pierre-Laurent Aimard plays Ligeti's Piano Concerto with the NY Phil: In what feels like a tiny bit of a stretch, the Phil is devoting part of its season to the centennial of iconoclastic composer György Ligeti, perhaps most famous for the otherworldly music Stanley Kubrick appropriated (without permission) for 2001: A Space Odyssey (which the Phil performed live a decade ago.) This week, longtime champion Pierre-Laurent Aimard arrives to perform Ligeti's fiendishly difficult piano concerto with conductor Susanna Mälkki, on a program that includes music by fellow Hungarians Liszt and Bartók. In addition, Aimard performs a late night set of Ligeti-inspired improvisations as part of the Phil's Nightcap series (11/4), and a solo recital (11/7) juxtaposing Ligeti's music with Beethoven, Chopin and Debussy. 

Friday 11/3

Kronos Quartet: Five Decades at Carnegie Hall: I don't remember the first time I saw Kronos live, but I feel they've been an indispensable part of my musical life for as long as I can remember. I mean, how many other string quartets can claim a Golden Anniversary (even if the only remaining original member is leader David Harrington)? In celebration, Kronos takes over Stern Auditorium with a massive lineup including Laurie Anderson, Tanya Yagaq, Wu Man, and the Bang on a Can All-Stars.

Anthony Davis' X  at the Met Opera : Only 37 years late, Anthony Davis' opera about the life of controversial civil rights leader Malcolm X arrives at the Met with a stellar cast led by baritone Will Liverman (Fire Shut Up My Bones) as Malcolm X. Davis has revised his score for this new production by director Robert O'Hara (Slave Play), conducted by Kazem Abdullah. If you can't make it to the house, the opera will be live streamed on the Met's website.

Saturday 11/4

Paul Taylor Dance Company at David Koch Theater: I don't usually cover dance here, but I'm making an exception for this Saturday's program, which includes a world premiere by Lauren Lovette (Echo) set to Kevin Puts' Contact, which he wrote during the Covid-19 pandemic for the charismatic trio Time for Three. They perform live onstage, with the Orchestra of St. Luke's in the pit.