The Western musical canon came about not merely by accumulation, but by opposition and subversion, both to the ruling powers on whom composers depended for their livelihoods and to other musics.

Quote by Brian Ferneyhough

Topics: Brian Ferneyhough Quotes

I am certainly not arguing for the de facto autonomy of the individual work, even...

I am certainly not arguing for the de facto autonomy of the individual work, even...

Why, in such a case, should the performer essay any sort of considered approach at...

Why, in such a case, should the performer essay any sort of considered approach at...

When I left Europe in 1987 I did so with the thought that my relevance...

When I left Europe in 1987 I did so with the thought that my relevance...

Sometimes one can be so closely involved with things that the larger context is lost...

Sometimes one can be so closely involved with things that the larger context is lost...

In my model, important interference phenomena arise when individual strata come into contact. These chaotic...

In my model, important interference phenomena arise when individual strata come into contact. These chaotic...

In my own recent String Trio I attempt to superimpose two quite different sets of...

In my own recent String Trio I attempt to superimpose two quite different sets of...

Naturally enough, I couldn't have foreseen the vast sea change which has come upon that...

Naturally enough, I couldn't have foreseen the vast sea change which has come upon that...

Other composers have taken this particular technique much further than I in the meantime, with...

Other composers have taken this particular technique much further than I in the meantime, with...

By reason of weird translation, many such sets of instructions read like poems anyhow.

By reason of weird translation, many such sets of instructions read like poems anyhow.

In any case, the fewer boundaries that exist hindering free movement between all forms of...

In any case, the fewer boundaries that exist hindering free movement between all forms of...

My own position is, that it is largely up to the work itself to suggest...

My own position is, that it is largely up to the work itself to suggest...

Actually, most things I say in public lead more or less directly to my own...

Actually, most things I say in public lead more or less directly to my own...

When I speak of cycles, I am referring to lengthy intervals of relative homogeneity, if...

When I speak of cycles, I am referring to lengthy intervals of relative homogeneity, if...

I would not say that I was, these days, a 'student' of philosophy, although in...

I would not say that I was, these days, a 'student' of philosophy, although in...

It is still true that it is easier to compose a poem in the form...

It is still true that it is easier to compose a poem in the form...

The idea of 'machine assemblage' is, especially, very alien to my sensibility, since it suggests...

The idea of 'machine assemblage' is, especially, very alien to my sensibility, since it suggests...

I frequently compose out the entire metric structure of a piece in modified cyclic form,...

I frequently compose out the entire metric structure of a piece in modified cyclic form,...

There would seem to be a limit, even for an art preoccupied with boundaries and...

There would seem to be a limit, even for an art preoccupied with boundaries and...

Composers dialogue - and obsessively, bitterly argue - with other composers, often over the span...

Composers dialogue - and obsessively, bitterly argue - with other composers, often over the span...

As a necessary prerequisite to the creation of new forms of expression one might, I...

As a necessary prerequisite to the creation of new forms of expression one might, I...