AARON JAY KERNIS

Overview

PHCD165

Aaron Jay Kernis

SYMPHONY IN WAVES

STRING QUARTET NO.1 (musica celestis)

New York Chamber Symphony  

Gerard Schwarz, conductor       

The Lark Quartet

Eva Gruesser, Robin Mayforth violin

Anna Kruger, viola  Astrid Schween, cello

 Prior to writing this work in 1989 I never imagined I would write a symphony. It seemed such an outdated and irrelevant form. But since that time I’ve become increasingly excited by the communicative potential, by the highly varied ideas and emotions, latent in traditional forms. I hope to find what ‘symphony’ means to me, to define the form for myself, by bringing my own experiences and passions to it.

I am not dealing with waves in a strictly programmatic sense. I think about waves of sound in addition to those of wind and water. Each movement uses some aspect of wave motion: swells and troughs of dynamics, densities, and instrumental color: the ‘sounds’ of light broken into flickering bits by water’s action.

Aaron Jay Kernis is known for music that blends expressive lyricism with rhythmic drive and a vivid sense of color. PHCD 165 offers a focused selection of his chamber and instrumental works, revealing the range and individuality of his contemporary voice. These performances bring clarity and nuance to Kernis’s writing, highlighting both its emotional immediacy and its structural sophistication.

This release is an essential addition for listeners exploring modern American chamber music.