Aaron Jay Kernis
- Aug 5, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 31
Aaron Jay Kernis, born on January 15, 1960, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, stands as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary classical music. His work, marked by a vibrant blend of traditional and innovative elements, has earned him acclaim as a composer who bridges genres and styles with remarkable ease.
Kernis grew up in a musically nurturing environment, beginning his formal music studies at an early age. He attended the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, where his talent was evident. He furthered his education at the Manhattan School of Music and later studied at the Yale School of Music. At Yale, he was influenced by composers such as Jacob Druckman and Roger Sessions, which helped shape his early compositional voice.
Kernis's orchestral compositions are widely celebrated for their rich textures and inventive use of musical language. One of his most notable works is "Concerto for Violin and Orchestra," which won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1998. This concerto exemplifies Kernis's ability to fuse emotional depth with technical mastery. His "Colored Field," a work commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra, showcases his gift for creating lush, evocative soundscapes that capture a wide range of emotional experiences. Kernis’s music often features elements of jazz, rock, and other genres, demonstrating his eclectic influences and ability to appeal to a broad audience.
Kernis's piano works reflect a deep engagement with both the technical demands of the instrument and the expressive possibilities it offers. His style is characterized by a blend of traditional elements and modern sensibilities, creating compositions that are both challenging for the performer and engaging for the listener.
The suite "Before Sleep and Dreams," composed in 1992, stands out as one of Kernis’s most evocative and intricate works for solo piano. This suite consists of several movements, each of which delves into different aspects of the piano's expressive range. It captures the liminal space between wakefulness and sleep, exploring themes of reflection, transition, and introspection.
Another fabulous piano piece is “Speed Limit Rag (a slow drag)," which captures the ragtime genre with a Gershwin-like flair.
Kernis’s impact extends beyond his compositions. He has served as a mentor and educator, influencing a new generation of composers through his teaching and workshops. His role as a professor at institutions such as the Yale School of Music has allowed him to pass on his knowledge and passion for music to aspiring composers.
Kernis’s works have been performed by leading orchestras and soloists worldwide, and his contributions to both orchestral and solo piano music continue to be celebrated for their originality and emotional depth. His music is a reflection of his ability to blend tradition with innovation, creating compositions that are both contemporary and timeless.
Selected Performances
Speed Limit Rag (2001) - "Speed Limit Rag (a slow drag)" was written by Kernis in 2001. I asked him how how came up with the title and he responded "At the time I wrote the rag, the general speed limit around the U.S. was 65- and it was written for David Zinman’s 65th birthday." The piece itself is a beautiful testament to the ragtime genre, with Kernis throwing is some fun pianistic tricks along the way!
Written in an unusual 12/8 time signature, Speed Limit Rag is both a tribute and a reimagination—an inventive reflection on a beloved American genre, filtered through Kernis’s distinctive voice. It offers a compelling challenge for pianists and a lively, engaging experience for listeners.
Epilogue: End of the Dream - Aaron Jay Kernis’s Epilogue: End of the Dream was composed during a period of deep reflection as the 45th President of the United States was nearing the end of his term. The piece was written just prior to the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, amid a fraught political climate and growing concerns about the erosion of shared values and ethical principles in American society.
In Epilogue: End of the Dream, Kernis channels the somber mood of these times through a slow, lyrical piano setting. The work is deeply rooted in the traditional American spirit, incorporating the melody of "America, the Beautiful" as its central theme. This well-known hymn, emblematic of national pride and hope, is treated with poignant irony as it shifts between major and minor tonalities, capturing the emotional vacillation between optimism and quiet despair.
The subtle tension and yearning expressed in Epilogue: End of the Dream offer a meditation on the fragility of hope in the face of societal decline, leaving listeners with a sense of reflection on both personal and collective responsibility. It is a work that evokes both sadness and resilience, capturing a national moment of profound change and uncertainty.
Linda's Waltz - Linda’s Waltz was composed in 2003 as a personal tribute for Linda Hoeschler, written for her farewell party at the conclusion of her tenure as Director of the American Composers Forum. Though created for a specific moment and individual, the music quickly transcends its circumstance, unfolding as an intimate and richly expressive portrait shaped by affection, gratitude, and emotional depth.
The waltz is built on contrast. Graceful, jazz-tinged melodies—warm, fluid, and gently nostalgic—alternate with passages of heightened dissonance and intensity. These shifts feel conversational rather than oppositional, as if moments of reflection and candor were speaking to one another. Kernis allows the music to linger, to hesitate, and to darken briefly before returning to lyricism, capturing the layered emotions that accompany meaningful transitions.
The harmonic warmth and expansive lyricism recall Brahms at his most introspective, while the voicing, rhythmic flexibility, and harmonic color suggest the influence of Bill Evans. Yet these echoes never feel imitative; they are fully absorbed into Kernis’s distinctive musical language, one that balances romantic expressiveness with a contemporary edge.
At its core, Linda’s Waltz reflects the bittersweet nature of farewells—the mingling of celebration, memory, and forward motion. That such a personal offering can resonate so broadly speaks to the artistry of Aaron Jay Kernis, a Pulitzer Prize–winning and Grammy Award–winning composer and one of the most significant voices in American music. In this finely wrought miniature, Kernis offers a waltz that feels both deeply personal and quietly universal, lingering long after its final cadence.
Locating The Music
You can find all of Kernis's compositions at Classical on Demand.
Compositions for Piano
Cycle II (1979 - 2pf, 4 or 8 hands)
Lullaby (1987 - from “Before Sleep and Dreams”)
Before Sleep and Dreams (1990)
Superstar Etude No. 1 (1992)
Speed Limit Rag (2001)
Superstar Etude No. 2 (2002)
Linda’s Waltz (2003)
Playing Monster (2006)
Ballad out of the Blues – Superstar Etude #3 (2008)
Morningsong and Mist (2011)
Toward the Setting Sun (2014)
Preludes (2020)
Epilogue: End of the Dream (2020)
Give Us Two Beautiful Bells (2020)
Elegy - To Those We Lost (2020)
Un Bacio - A Kiss (2020)
