Kes learned the violin, studying with the famous Joseph Joachim in Berlin. From 1876 he started his career as a conductor. When the Concertgebouw Orchestra was started in Amsterdam in 1888 Kes was its conductor. He made it into a good orchestra. He had this job until 1895 when Willem Mengelberg took over. Kes went to Glasgow to conduct the Scottish Orchestra. In 1898 he took a conducting job in Moscow. From 1905 to 1926, Kes was director of a music conservatory (college) in Koblenz. He also worked in Dresden.