When I speak of 'cycles,' I am referring to lengthy intervals of relative homogeneity, if not in the resolving of problems, than at least with respect to the consistency of their capacity to productively irritate. Brian Ferneyhough capacityconsistencycycle share on social
When I left Europe in 1987 I did so with the thought that my relevance as a composition teacher would benefit from a certain cool distance to certain tendencies I had been observing for several years with increasing disquiet. Brian Ferneyhough benefitcompositioncool share on social
With respect to the respective French and German traditions you are no doubt correct, although I am reluctant to see individual achievement reduced to archetypes. Brian Ferneyhough achievementarchetypecorrect Change image and share on social
Sometimes one can be so closely involved with things that the larger context is lost to view. Brian Ferneyhough closelycontextinvolve Change image and share on social
The past nine years in San Diego have represented such a period of questioning. Brian Ferneyhough diegopastperiod Change image and share on social
Certainly being in California has encouraged a sustained commitment to rethinking the nature, purposes, and relevance of the contemporary arts, specifically music, for a society which by and large seems to manage quite well without them. Brian Ferneyhough artcaliforniacommitment share on social
I frequently compose out the entire metric structure of a piece in modified cyclic form, where each cyclic revolution undergoes some form of 'variation' much as if measure lengths were concrete musical 'material.' Brian Ferneyhough composeconcretecyclic share on social
Other composers have taken this particular technique much further than I in the meantime, with the result that the Law of Diminishing Returns has begun to apply. Brian Ferneyhough applybegincomposer Change image and share on social
In my model, important interference phenomena arise when individual strata come into contact. These chaotic fluctuations are, I suppose, what my music is really 'about.' Brian Ferneyhough arisechaoticcontact Change image and share on social
By reason of weird translation, many such sets of instructions read like poems anyhow. Brian Ferneyhough instructionpoemread Change image and share on social
