Coming to Grips with History (1984–1991)

This chapter explores Kernis's life in the period 1984–1991—a period of wandering physically, emotionally, and artistically. He lived in Europe, various parts of the United States, and Canada. He experienced periods of intense loneliness but also the pleasure of a significant romantic attachment. And, after freeing himself musically from strict self-imposed controls, he confronted head-on the challenges of history, coming to grips with the forms and modes of expression pioneered by his predecessors while adapting these traditions to his personal language. His success in confronting these personal and professional challenges manifested itself in commissions for his first symphony (the Symphony in Waves, 1989) and his first string quartet (musica celestis, 1990) and in the establishment of important associations that would serve him well far into the future with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Lark Quartet, and pianist Evelyne Luest, who would become his wife in 1996.