Cassandra’s Dream Song: Let’s (not) talk about gender

Abstract

Cassandra’s Dream Song (1970), the first flute solo piece by the British ‘New Complexity’ composer Brian Ferneyhough, has been a controversial and gender related composition for decades. The Western stereotypical stigmatization is still intertwined with the interpretation of this complex masterpiece. In my search for a truthful and contemporary analysis of the piece, I explore Cassandra's psychological path.