Quotes from Bryce Dessner

I can't just play in a rock band. The National is a great, exciting band to play in. We improvise a lot onstage, and it's very intense, but after a while, I crave other kinds of experiences.

David Harrington, who's the violinist and founder of Kronos, is a super open-minded and adventurous guy.

There is a kind of adventure- and risk-seeking audience in classical contemporary music that is really empowering and part of what draws me to it. The people that come to these concerts are open-minded and curious.

Bands like Arcade Fire finding a larger audience has opened a lot of doors. They've empowered a whole community in Montreal.

When we learned to play in bands, what we were covering was equal part the Velvet Underground and the Grateful Dead. That would defy the logic that somehow these things don't fit in the same musical well.

I studied classical guitar in school, and that type of stuff has led to writing for Kronos.

My background in music is classical - I did graduate school in music. At that time, I was studying composition, but I was studying classical guitar very seriously.

David Harrington asked me to write a piece for Kronos Quartet for a performance in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. I live just two blocks from the park and spend many mornings running around it. The park for me symbolizes much of what I love about New York, especially the stunning diversity of Brooklyn with its myriad cultures and communities.

I like to write on tour busses and airplanes. Something about moving.

We've gotten better as a live band. The songs have been allowed to grow with our audience. I don't think I would have done it any other way.

I've got this diverse education, growing up in classical music and existing between that and music that is more visceral, so for sure, I've always been interested in music from other cultures.