Composer

:

Brian Ferneyhough

Genre

:

Keyboard

Compose Date

:

2000

Average_duration

:

21:34

Movement_count

:

3

Movement ....

Opus Contra Naturam, a Shadow Play for speaking pianist, is a composition by British composer Brian Ferneyhough. It was composed in 1980 and premiered on October 17, 1980, at the Donaueschingen Festival in Germany. The piece is divided into five movements and is approximately 25 minutes in length. The first movement, titled "Prologue," sets the stage for the piece with a spoken text that introduces the themes of the work. The second movement, "The Shadow," features the pianist playing a series of complex and virtuosic passages while reciting a text that explores the idea of the shadow as a metaphor for the unconscious mind. The third movement, "The Mirror," is a slower and more introspective section that explores the idea of self-reflection. The pianist plays a series of delicate and intricate passages while reciting a text that reflects on the nature of identity and self-awareness. The fourth movement, "The Mask," is a more aggressive and dissonant section that explores the idea of the mask as a symbol of deception and concealment. The pianist plays a series of jagged and angular passages while reciting a text that explores the idea of the mask as a means of hiding one's true self. The final movement, "Epilogue," brings the piece to a close with a spoken text that reflects on the themes of the work and offers a sense of resolution and closure. Opus Contra Naturam is characterized by its complex and virtuosic piano writing, as well as its use of spoken text to explore themes of identity, self-awareness, and the unconscious mind. The piece is considered a landmark work in Ferneyhough's oeuvre and has been widely performed and recorded since its premiere.

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