Photograph by Zoran Orlic ©

“Terry Riley’s empyrean masterpiece for the Kronos Quartet, chorus, electronic sounds from outer space, and lavish visual projections provides music of supreme beauty and spiritual impact….A whole new chapter in the age-old quest for a music of the spheres.”

“Space sounds swirl in the air; galaxies carpet the walls and ceiling; and Riley’s generous melodies flow through Kronos’ four string instruments. The audience sat in spellbound silence the way spectators do at a space launch.”

— Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times

“Thought-provoking, ear-opening and just plain beautiful….Surrounded by an array of twinkling lights, with an ever-changing display on the video screen, Kronos carved an expert path through Riley’s wide-ranging score—from tango and pop to serene chord clusters.”

— Melinda Bargreen, Seattle Times

“Stunning visual information put together by Willie Williams, visual designer for U2 and Bowie….the result is an overwhelming multimedia epic of a show.”

— Peter Culshaw, Daily Telegraph (UK)

“A masterpiece. Riley’s music is many kinds of gorgeous—the enchanting tripping of his folk-dance stuff and a melodic manner rich, lyrical and breath-stopping I haven’t heard before.”

— Alan Rich, LA Weekly

“Dr. Donald Gurnett, a NASA physicist who has spent his 40-year career recording amazing sounds from the cosmos, contributed the raw heart of the piece. The impact of these recordings on Riley, one of America’s most resourceful and prolific composers, was galvanic and inspiring…..Sun Rings emerges as a suite of 10 hauntingly powerful “spacescapes” composed to join together Dr. Gurnett’s sounds with the string quartet for a distinctive weaving of live performance and recorded space emanations.”

— Barbara Rose Shuler, The Herald (Monterey)

“Space. Not only is there something out there, but Donald Gurnett recorded it, Terry Riley set it to music, and the Kronos Quartet performs it in a stage and sound show created by Willie Williams.”

— John Kenyon, The Gazette (Iowa City)