In 1992, the international chamber group Balanescu Quartet released a CD called Possessed. It contained three original works by the band’s eponymous leader Alexander Balanescu and a composition by Talking Heads’ artguy-in-chief David Byrne, but that didn’t really matter. Practically all the attention afforded the group was justifiably hogged by the five stunning Kraftwerk covers that led off the album. Per AllMusic:

Alexander Balanescu (b. 11 June 1954, Bucharest, Romania), the son of a university professor, was raised in Romania before his family moved to Israel in 1969. After two years he relocated to London, England, to take up violin studies (he also spent time at the Juillard School of Music in New York). He formed the Balanescu Quartet in 1987, initially joined by Clare Connors (second violin), Bill Hawkes (viola) and Caroline Dale (cello). Having already developed strong working relationships with fellow contemporary composers Michael Nyman and Gavin Bryars, the quartet has gone on to perform classical works by John Cage, Kevin Volans, and Robert Moran. They broke new ground in 1992 with Possessed for independent label Mute Records, which featured acoustic transcriptions of five Kraftwerk electronic pieces. This was justified thus: ‘There have been violins for two hundred years, and we’re trying to bring them into harmony with modern compositions.’

 

 
The Balanescu Quartet are still active, with Balanescu himself as the sole constant member. They’ve worked in classical and pop idioms, with artists as diverse as Pet Shop Boys, Philip Glass, Yellow Magic Orchestra and Spiritualized, but even after 22 years, their Kraftwerk interpretations remain major career highlights. However, and disappointingly, Possessed is out of print. Thank the gods everything’s free on the Internet, right?
 

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Notable Kraftwerk samples in megamix