Kronos in Glasgow: Finale @ City Halls, 15 May

Back in the 1980s, Kronos’ link to popular music was awkward: cover versions of Jimi Hendrix made them one step away from Hooked On Classics abominations, and their relevance was better served by the commitment to contemporary classical pieces that made stark statements about politics and musical mutations. It is the shift in popular music that has redeemed them: the cover versions of Sigur Ros are far more emotive and appropriate, and the influence of electronic music is notable in the new choral compositions they showcase with the Scottish Youth choir.

On their final night in Glasgow, it is Reich’s WTC 9/11 and Riley’s Cusp of Magic that are the most familiar and immediate Kronos moments. Despite the claim that WTC 9/11 is “something quite different”, it follows from Reich’s most famous collaboration with Kronos, Different Trains through its recorded voices and ganting minimalism. A bracing response to the start of the war of terror, it is neutral about the intent of violence, conjuring a brutal energy and a distanced response to the trauma of exploding buildings: an exercise in musical power, and a reminder of how expansive minimalism can be.

Cusp of Magic pairs Kronos and Wu Man, who rocks an acoustic lute harder than most bands manage a set of distortion pedals: moving away from the harsh electronic minimalism of Riley’s past, it is a meandering, mysterious suite that involves squeaky toys, excursions into atonality and romantic vistas before resolving into a charmed elegance. That they then encore with a John Oswald loop – Oswald invented the idea of the mash up – emphasises that the older Kronos get, the more vibrant and relevant they become.