Although the majority of the texts deal with Ferneyhough's compositions, others reflect his activities as a highly influential composition teacher, and some touch on his recent work as a poet. Together, the writings provide a means of insight into the workings of the mind of a composer whose output could be regarded as one of the most significant of this century.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Considering the densely-formed structures underyling Fernyeyhough's works and the highly individual, sometimes inaccessible aesthetic contexts he develops, such a book as this is a true revelation for anyone seriously interested in his music. Containing analyses of his own works, a few on other works (Webern, Finnissy and Ruggles), essays and a substantial collection of interviews, it can act as a handbook for those seeking a foothold in a world which requires one in order to truly find insights into it.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars
4 reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Articulate and as lucid as committment to complexity allows
29 Dec 1999
By scarecrow
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Contemporary Music Studies, Harwood Academic Publishers have done an admirable job in publishing annual seminal works from a wide spectrum of contemporary musical thought,showing no proclivities. From Eisler, Peter Schat,,Bruno Maderna, Pierre Boulez and neglected Charles Koechlin. Here Ferneyhough brings us right to his writing desk and we learn how he constructs his multi-dimensional musical concoctions. Much of it has been material provided elsewhere,but who reads it or can recall its source,from program notes and seminal interviews with Paul Griffiths, James Boros and Richard Toop, those who have followed Mr. Ferneyhough's career, and were there at the birth. Well documented here are the four string Quartet. And since the quartet is, or has been considered as special creative preserve, Ferneyhough's thought is well focused, giving us, rendering his aesthetic battle-plans for each. Some like the Third Quartet was more lucid and facile,greater surface discourse relatively speaking. There are also grist kinds of analysis, of Webern, token objects on the way toward discovery,but analysis frequently point toward the labyrinth of creativity What you value one place is sought after in another. We also extend into a life beyond just placing musical loci, notes on paper, Walter Benjamin is a great inspiration, and Ferneyhough has followed the intellectual currents of Europe, philosophic, and cultural to be able to place his creations within that discourse. He frequently solicits the visual world of painting for an agenda.Also Musical excerpts abound the pages , and the impeccable draftsmanship is a sensuous pleasure a gaze almost pornographic in its seductiveness.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
rich, complex-yet-illuminating discourse. . .
11 Oct 2000
By "breitlin"
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Ferneyhough's writings are on music are some of the most rich and fascinating ever. This collection, which consists of articles, lectures, analysi, and interviews [which are exquisite!] give us insight into the views of a profound living composer -- with wonderful little brain tingles along the way! It's a shame that the book costs so much [check local university libraries], but I encourage people to get it any way they can. I cannot say enough about the integrity of these writings. . .
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enlightening and useful
10 July 2006
By Steward Willons
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Brian Ferneyhough is seen by many as the face of the so-called "New Complexity" movement. It is important that one set aside any judgments on this aesthetic style before reading. This collection features a wide range of essays, interviews, analyses, and a nice list of compositions and a discography.
Initially, I wasn't sure what I thought about Ferneyhough. Certainly, as a student of musicology, I was fascinated by his amazingly dense scores - scores that qualify as art in their own right. However, as a musician, I'm not sure that taking the time to actually learn a Ferneyhough work - and learn it well - would be personally worth the effort. That said, reading a selection of these writings helped me understand and appreciate Ferneyhough in a new way. I found the studies of his own works helped me appreciate the musical ideas to a greater extent that was previously possible through my own brief analysis.
After reading a number of the essays this much is clear: Brian Ferneyhough is definitely an intellectual. Whether he is an artist also is up to you. I'm not totally sold on his (perhaps overly) cerebral aesthetics, but I found his writing to be enlightening, not just for his music, but for much late 20th century music. If you're reading this review, you're probably already aware of Ferneyhough's style. If you are fascinated by his originality or difficulty, this will be a rewarding read.
Initially, I wasn't sure what I thought about Ferneyhough. Certainly, as a student of musicology, I was fascinated by his amazingly dense scores - scores that qualify as art in their own right. However, as a musician, I'm not sure that taking the time to actually learn a Ferneyhough work - and learn it well - would be personally worth the effort. That said, reading a selection of these writings helped me understand and appreciate Ferneyhough in a new way. I found the studies of his own works helped me appreciate the musical ideas to a greater extent that was previously possible through my own brief analysis.
After reading a number of the essays this much is clear: Brian Ferneyhough is definitely an intellectual. Whether he is an artist also is up to you. I'm not totally sold on his (perhaps overly) cerebral aesthetics, but I found his writing to be enlightening, not just for his music, but for much late 20th century music. If you're reading this review, you're probably already aware of Ferneyhough's style. If you are fascinated by his originality or difficulty, this will be a rewarding read.
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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