For those of you who like your ethnomusicology less with the pan flutes and more with the non-Western modalities, the San Francisco World Music Festival is presenting a number of innovative programs for the next two weeks.

Headlining the festivities is San Francisco's own Kronos Quartet, playing a special local show sandwiched in between their European tour and their upcoming BAM Next Wave performance in New York. Kronos (pictured above) will be premiering a work written by the world's leading Azerbaijani accordionist, and performing another piece with members of the Beijing Opera Company and Zhang Hai Yue, a "Chinese leaf virtuoso." (SFist had originally noted that Zhang would not be playing a baby bok choi but rather, a Chinese leaf instrument, or -- but we were later informed that no, Zhang is actually playing an actual leaf in concert. No way!)

The concert is this Sunday, September 26, at Herbst Theater, but get your seats now -- Kronos puts on a good show and those hip contemporary music folks who smoke cigarettes in holders and wear all-black outfits featuring slim pants and a jaunty beret -- well, dang, they snap up tickets early! Other concerts featured in the World Music Festival include music from Crete, new Jewish music, jazz fusion concerts, and "the Queen of the Gypsies," singer Esma Redzepova.

liuqin