New Complexity: Brian Ferneyhough And Michael Finnissy

New Complexity is a term originating from the 1980s, mainly applied to composers looking for a "complex, multi-layered interplay of evolutionary processes occurring simultaneously within every dimension of the musical material.” New Complexity describes a dense, difficult and rigorously academic method to Classical Modern works which became known in the 1980s. The term is used with English composers such as Brian Ferneyhough and Michael Finnissy, who taught at Darmstadt Summer Courses produced the 'first wave' of New Complexity composers.

New Complexity compositions are atonal, highly abstract and inharmonious in sound, and are perhaps most well known for their use of extremely complex notation, which requires extreme skills from the performer. A composition from Brian Ferneyhough would have a distinct dynamic and articulation for every note, requiring the musician to use
The term often refers to compositions that have music within different aspects of sound (pitch, rhythm, timbre, articulation, etc.) both separately and at the same time. this techniques adds dimensions of musical development. The term New Complexity applies to the works of late 20th century and early 21st century composers that employ the aforementioned features in their music such as Brian Ferneyhough, Michael Finnissy, James Dillon, and others.

New Complexity involves densely notated scores that approach the restrictions of standard notation, and also the restrictions of performers. The level of detail specified in these scores challenges the capabilities of performers to produce interpretations that completely represent all of the information present in the score. The struggle of a performer's attempt to interpret such demanding repertoire often serves as an intended dramatic element of these