The schedule for this summer’s Lincoln Center Out of Doors festival, which runs from July 24 to August 11, has been announced. Featured among the festival's 100 free performances taking place across the plazas of New York's Lincoln Center this summer are the events of Kronos at 40, curated in collaboration with Kronos Quartet to mark its 40th anniversary. This "festival within a festival" unfolds during the first five days of the larger festival.

This summer, Lincoln Center Out of Doors joins Kronos Quartet in an unprecedented, extended collaboration during the opening week of the festival to mark the start of the quartet’s 40th anniversary season. Kronos at 40 features a five-day residency by Kronos, and co-curated programs by Lincoln Center Director of Public Programming Bill Bragin and Kronos Quartet founder and Artistic Director David Harrington that reflects the innovation and global breadth of the quartet’s storied career.

Twenty eight concerts and events, twelve premieres, and five Lincoln Center commissions and co-commissions will take place from Wednesday, July 24, through Sunday, July 28, with daily appearances by Kronos, on its own and with special guests (including Mariana Sadovska, Magda Giannikou, Dan Deacon, and Jherek Bischoff); plus performances by Red Hot + FELA LIVE! with Tony Allen and Superhuman Happiness heading an all-star line-up; Mark Dendy Dance & Theater Projects, My Brightest Diamond, Emily Wells, Found Sound Nation, The Gloaming, Elena Moon Park, Dan Zanes, OzoKidz/Ozomatli, Jacob Garchik’s The Heavens, Asphalt Orchestra, and more.

The quartet’s Kronos at 40 appearances mark the first time Kronos will perform in New York with its new cellist Sunny Jungin Yang, who joins long-time members David Harrington, violinist John Sherba and violist Hank Dutt.

“One of the ideas at the heart of Lincoln Center Out of Doors is creating a space where a multiplicity of cultures, ideas and expressions are shared and celebrated, reflecting the world in which we live," says Bragin. "We like to blur the boundaries between so-called 'high' and 'popular' arts from a variety of genres and traditions, building community and bringing audiences of diverse backgrounds and tastes together. With Kronos Quartet, we are lucky to collaborate with kindred spirits who are equally committed to creating revelatory and celebratory experiences with artists of the highest caliber."

"Kronos at 40 is an amazing opportunity for us to share where our work is now and where it’s heading in the future," says Harrington. "The week will include music from many corners of the landscape. New relationships are being forged and longtime friendships are being deepened. We have never had a time like this where so many aspects of our work are naturally coming together. I've been waiting for this kind of a week for the last 40 years! Thanks to Bill Bragin and Lincoln Center Out of Doors for the chance to begin our anniversary season by actualizing a musical panorama that I have long dreamed of."

Performing later in the Lincoln Out of Doors festival season is Allen Toussaint, who will join Bobby Rush and others for a performance on August 11. 

For additional details and the complete Lincoln Center Out of Doors schedule, visit lcoutofdoors.org.

Kronos Quartet gives its final New York City concert with cellist Jeffrey Zeigler in a performance with special guest clarinetist David Krakauer at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall this Friday, May 3, at 9 PM. On the program are the world premiere of a new piece by Missy Mazzoli; the New York premieres of the Silvestrov String Quartet No. 3 and Aleksandra Vrebalov's Babylon, Our Own; and Laurie Anderson's Flow, from her latest Nonesuch album, Homeland. Kronos joins Anderson for two performances of her new piece Landfall at Montclair State University in New Jersey the following weekend.

Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle will honor the members of the Kronos Quartet with honorary degrees this year. “The Kronos Quartet, celebrating their 40th anniversary this year, demonstrates a fearless approach to their art that complements our equally adventurous graduates," says Cornish President Nancy J. Usher. "I look forward to welcoming them all to Seattle.” Also receiving an honorary degree at the commencement ceremony, held on May 12 at Benaroya Hall, is Virginia Johnson, artistic director of Dance Theatre of Harlem, who will deliver the commencement address.

For additional details on all of these and other upcoming Kronos Quartet events, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.