Ferneyhough, Brian (John Peter)
Ferneyhough, Brian (John Peter)
Ferneyhough, Brian (John Peter), English composer and teacher; b. Coventry, Jan. 16, 1943. He studied at the Birmingham School of Music (1961–63), then took courses with Lennox Berkeley and Maurice Miles at the Royal Academy of Music in London (1966–67); furthermore, received instruction in advanced composition with Ton de Leeuw in Amsterdam and Klaus Huber in Basel (1969–73). From 1971 to 1986 he was on the faculty at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg im Breisgau. He then taught at the Royal Cons. of Music at The Hague (from 1986) and at the Univ. of Calif, at San Diego (from 1987). His output is marked by an uncompromising complexity.
Works
4 Miniatures for Flute and Piano (1965); Coloratura for Oboe and Piano (1966); Sonata for 2 Pianos (1966); Prometheus for Wind Sextet (1967); 4 string quartets (1967; 1980; 1986–87; 1990); Epicycle for 20 Strings (Hilversum, Sept. 7, 1969); Firecycle Beta for Orch. and 5 Conductors (1969–71); Funèrailles I for String Sextet, Double Bass, and Harp (1969–77) and II for 7 Strings and Harp (1980); Missa brevis for 12 Solo Voices (1971); 7 Sterne for Organ (1971); Time and Motion Study I for Bass Clarinet (1971–77), II for Cello and Electronics (1973–75), and III for 16 Solo Voices and Percussion (1974); Transit for 6 Amplified Voices and Chamber Orch. (1972–75; Royan, France, March 25, 1975); Perspectivae corporum irregularum for Oboe, Viola, and Piano (1975); Unity Capsule for Flute (1975–76); La Terre est un homme for Orch. (1976–79); Lemma-Icon-Epigram for Piano (1981); Superscript- for Piccolo (1981); Carceri d’invenzione I for 16 Instruments (1981–82), II for Flute and Chamber Orch. (1984), and III for 15 Wind Instruments and 3 Percussionists (1986); Adagissimo for String Quartet (1983); Études transcendan-tales for Mezzo-soprano, Flute, Oboe, Cello, and Harpsichord (1982–85); Allgebrah for Oboe and String Orch. (1990); Bone Alphabet for Percussion (1991); Terrain for Violin and Ensemble (1992).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire