Brian Ferneyhough facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Brian Ferneyhough
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| Born | 16 January 1943 (age 82) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Composer and Lecturer |
Brian John Peter Ferneyhough (born 16 January 1943) is a famous English composer. Many people see him as the main person behind a style of music called New Complexity. Brian Ferneyhough has taught music composition at several universities, including the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and the University of California, San Diego. He currently teaches at Stanford University and often gives talks at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse summer courses. He has lived in California since 1987.
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Brian Ferneyhough's Life
Brian Ferneyhough was born in Coventry, England. He started his music training at the Birmingham School of Music. Later, from 1966 to 1967, he studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Lennox Berkeley.
In 1968, Ferneyhough won the Mendelssohn Scholarship. This allowed him to move to Europe. He studied with Ton de Leeuw in Amsterdam and then with Klaus Huber in Basel.
Between 1973 and 1986, he taught music composition in Germany at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. Some of his students became well-known composers, like Toshio Hosokawa and Kaija Saariaho.
In 1974, two of his pieces, Cassandra's Dream Song (for solo flute) and Missa Brevis (for 12 singers), were performed for the first time at the Royan Festival. In 1975, his works Transit and Time and Motion Study III were also performed. Transit won a Koussevitzky Prize. In 1984, he was given a special French award called Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
From 1987 to 1999, he was a music professor at the University of California, San Diego. In 2000, he became a professor at Stanford University. He also taught at Harvard University for a year. Since 1990, he has led a special music course each year in France.
In 2007, Ferneyhough received the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize. This award celebrates a composer's lifetime achievements in music. In 2009, he became a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. He also received honorary degrees from Goldsmiths, University of London, and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
His Music Style
When Brian Ferneyhough first started composing, his music was not always popular in England. However, he found support from people who believed in his talent. A big moment for his career was the Royan festival in 1974.
After this, Ferneyhough became strongly linked to a style of music called New Complexity. He is even called the "Father of New Complexity." This style is known for being very detailed and complex. Ferneyhough's music often challenges listeners to think about how they hear music. He creates pieces where musical ideas are very rich and full of detail.
His music scores are very difficult for musicians to play. They require a lot of skill and practice. However, many talented musicians and groups enjoy performing his works. Some of these include the Arditti Quartet and the ELISION Ensemble.
His opera, Shadowtime, is based on the life of a German philosopher named Walter Benjamin. It was first performed in Munich in 2004.
Selected Works
Music for String Quartets
- First String Quartet (1963)
- Sonatas for String Quartet (1967)
- Second String Quartet (1980)
- Adagissimo (1983)
- Third String Quartet (1987)
- Fourth String Quartet (1989–90)
- Fifth String Quartet (2006)
- Dum transisset I–IV for string quartet (2007)
- Exordium for string quartet (2008)
- Sixth String Quartet (2010)
- Silentium (2014)
Music for Solo Instruments
- Sieben Sterne for organ (1970)
- Cassandra's Dream Song for flute (1970–71)
- Time and Motion Study I for bass clarinet (1971–77)
- Time and Motion Study II for singing cellist and live electronics (1973–76)
- Unity Capsule for solo flute (1976)
- Lemma-Icon-Epigram for piano (1982)
- Kurze Schatten II for guitar (1989)
- Trittico per G.S. for double bass (1989)
- Bone Alphabet for percussion (1991)
- Unsichtbare Farben for violin (1999)
- Opus Contra Naturam, for Solo Piano (2000)
- no time (at all) for two guitars (2004), five pieces
- Sisyphus Redux for alto flute (2009)
- Quirl for solo piano (2011–13)
Music for Small Groups
- Prometheus for wind sextet (1967)
- Transit for solo voices and ensemble (1972–75)
- Time and Motion Study III for sixteen solo voices, percussion and electronics (1974)
- Carceri d'Invenzione I for flute, oboe, clarinets, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, percussion, piano, violins, viola, cello, double bass (1982)
- Etudes Transcendantales for soprano and chamber ensemble (1982–1985)
- Carceri d'Invenzione II for flute and ensemble (1985)
- Carceri d'Invenzione III for fifteen wind instruments and percussion (1986)
- La Chute d’Icare for solo clarinet and chamber ensemble (1988)
- Terrain for violin and chamber ensemble (1992)
- Allgebrah for oboe and 9 solo strings (1996)
- Incipits for solo viola, percussion and six instruments (1996)
- The Doctrine of Similarity for chorus, 3 clarinets, violin, piano and percussion (2000)
- Chronos-Aion for large ensemble (2007–8)
- Renvoi/Shards for quarter-tone guitar and vibraphone (2008)
- Liber Scintillarum for 6 instruments (2012)
Music for Orchestras
- Firecycle Beta for two pianos and two orchestras with five conductors (1969-1971)
- La Terre est un Homme for orchestra (1979)
- Plötzlichkeit for large orchestra (2006)
His Opera
- Shadowtime (1999–2004), with words by Charles Bernstein. It was first performed at the Munich Biennale.
See also
In Spanish: Brian Ferneyhough para niños
