A composer of grand gestures

Kernis explains that even when writing "New Era Dance," he "wondered what its shelf life would be. But through the later '90s, it became my most-performed piece. I think it's important to write what's necessary, and none of us knows the future. I've also found the reaction to a new orchestral work happens over several years.

"If a work is over 10 minutes long, you're lucky if it's performed twice, and if it's over 25 minutes, more performances [after the première] are a miracle."

Indeed, despite a high-profile recording on Virgin Classics, there are no immediate plans for future American concert performances of the large-scale "Colored Field."

Kernis says ruefully, "Most orchestras have a very traditional mindset about programs." To help attitudes evolve, Kernis commutes monthly to a job as the Minnesota Orchestra's adviser for new music, and next year he will be guest composer at the revamped La Jolla, Calif., chamber music festival, run by star violinist Cho-Liang Lin.

Says Lin of Kernis: "It's so interesting to follow Aaron's music; he endlessly fascinates. 'Trio in Red' [a work recently applauded at its New York première] is a fiercer piece than "Air" - it's like Jekyll & Hyde."

Even nightclub singer and Broadway star Ute Lemper is a surprise fan, saying she would love to perform his music: "Aaron Jay Kernis is a composer I enjoy very much. His music is so expressive in itself, I wonder if he could leave room for words."

Kernis typically leaves room for words when explaining his basic musical motivation: "At this time of worldwide reflection and the search for meaning in the wake of [the Sept. 11] tragedy, the power of music is more important than ever.

"Music can allow us to rediscover what is deep inside ourselves, free from the precision of language and the barrage of rhetoric, free from easy answers to impossible questions."

A good selection of compositions by Aaron Jay Kernis is available on recordings:

'Colored Field,' 'Musica Celestis,' 'Air' Virgin Classics

Gifted cellist Truls Mork and conductor Eiji Oue produce classical renditions of some of Kernis's orchestral showpieces.

'Before Sleep and Dreams,' 'Meditation,' 'The Four Seasons of Futurist Cuisine' The Eberli Ensemble Phoenix USA

The Eberli Ensemble - formerly known as the Contrasts Quartet - is a chamber group led by Kernis's wife, the gifted pianist Evelyne Luest, making for a sympathetic program of chamber works.

String Quartets 1 and 2 Lark Quartet Arabesque

Kernis's second quartet, subtitled "Musica Instrumentalis," won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize, but the first quartet, "Musica Celestis," is no less engaging.

'Air for Violin,' 'Double Concerto for Violin & Guitar,' 'Lament and Prayer.' Argo

An all-star group of musicians, including Pamela Frank, Cho-Liang Lin, and Joshua Bell give definitive performances of some of the composer's most popular works.

Kernis: Second Symphony Argo

Conductor Hugh Wolff and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra plumb the passionate depths of Kernis's large-scale Symphony No. 2.

Kernis: 100 Greatest Dance Hits New Albion

A glimpse of the composer in a lighter, more ironic mood. A delight.

Songs of America/Jan Degaetani, Gilbert Kalish Nonesuch

A Kernis setting of a Gertrude Stein poem in a splendid performance by mezzo Jan Degaetani.

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