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.

2111] (1982) (analysis score sample)
(inspired by the "Carceri d'Invenzione by Giambattista Piranesi). Tempo new series no. Jonathan Nott.

His work is characterized by highly complex notation and the extensive use of irregular nested rhythmic tuplets and he is typically considered to be the central figure of the New Complexity movement in music. Ferneyhough taught composition at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and the University of California at San Diego and currently teaches composition at Stanford University.