The popularity of and resistance to Aaron Jay Kernis are each easy to understand. Kernis offers a dual kind of familiarity that will either delight audience members or set them on edge, according to their preferences and preconceptions. It is not just the use of popular music that has propelled Kernis to a prominent place on American concert programs and now, apparently those across the pond. Equally important is the way he deploys those forms in such a way as to fit into larger Classical outlines. Individual movements ...
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The popularity of and resistance to Aaron Jay Kernis are each easy to understand. Kernis offers a dual kind of familiarity that will either delight audience members or set them on edge, according to their preferences and preconceptions. It is not just the use of popular music that has propelled Kernis to a prominent place on American concert programs and now, apparently those across the pond. Equally important is the way he deploys those forms in such a way as to fit into larger Classical outlines. Individual movements often have a peppy opening theme followed by a more lyrical second theme, and a four-movement work like 100 Greatest Dance hits (1993) corresponds to the large-scale feel of a Classical-era chamber piece. The ambitious opening movement is replaced with a short introduction, but Kernis' "Salsa Pasada" movement makes a reasonable stand-in for a minuet or scherzo, his slow movements are straightforwardly melodic and simple, and his "Dance Party on the Disco Motorboat" finale is resolute and...
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