Kronos Quartet - Bob Ostertag: All the Rage (1992)

This stirring release was written by acclaimed composer/sampler artist Bob Ostertag, and performed alongside the Kronos Quartet. A stark response to the AIDS epidemic (with the proceeds of all sales of this disc going to AIDS research), the quartet follows an opening sing-spiel narrative before diving into a section of Ostertag's cut-up loops of crowds cheering, and intense string work from the quartet. Cutting back and forth between one another in a loose interplay sets up a fair amount of tension, which makes a piece of this magnitude that much more potent. While the album is merely one 16-minute composition, there could have been much more to say and expand upon, but it's an eloquent tone poem that fans of both artists will enjoy.