Kronos Quartet 1984-1985 season brochure
Frank Zappa / None of the Above
The story goes that as a young man Frank Zappa stumbled across an album of the music of Edgard Varèse, and it marked him for life. His varied and enduring output through the years in rock music has been characterized by innovation, eclecticism, and a mad humor balanced with a very serious attention to the music.
In a late 1970s interview Zappa said, "I think of myself as a composer who happens to have the guitar as his main instrument. Most composers used to play the piano. Well, I'm not a piano player...."
Rarely at a loss for words, Zappa prefers to let his music speak for itself, but he did have one comment for the Kronos musicians: "You asked for it."
Zappa's own record label, Barking Pumpkin Records, has released an album of his orchestral works, entitled Zappa, Vol. 1, featuring the London Symphony Orchestra.
