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

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.