Michael Nyman
Biography
Michael Nyman is one of the most significant composers of our time. Internationally he is recognized primarily as a composer for film, his works including the score for Jane Campions Oscar-winning film The Piano, as well as music for a number of Peter Greenaway films such as The Cook, the Thief, his Wife & her Lover and The Draughtsman's Contract.
As a music journalist, in 1968 Nyman coined the term "Minimal Music" and in the 1970's, he briefly joined the Steve Reich Ensemble. Collaborations followed with Brian Eno and the legendary Scratch Orchestra, until Nyman finally formed his own ensemble, the Michael Nyman Band.
In addition to numerous soundtracks for films by Volker Schlöndorff (Der Unhold), Michael Winterbottom (among others Wonderland), Andrew Niccol (Gattaca), Neil Jordan (The End of the Affair) and Patrice Leconte (The Hairdresser's Husband, Monsieur Hire), Nyman's oeuvre includes compositions for opera and concert, for dance and music theater, art videos, performances and installations. These have been immensely successful, performed worldwide by orchestras, chamber ensembles, choirs, soloists and the Michael Nyman Band.
Discography
Film, Music, Photography, 2010
Accoustic Accordions, 2009
Arrangements: Janusz Wojtarowicz
The Glare, 2009
The Michael Nyman Band
Lyrics: David McAlmont
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Solo piano: Kathryn Stott
The Michael Nyman Band
Singing: Marie Angel
The Michael Nyman Band
Six Celan Songs -
Texts: Paul Celan/ Mary Kelly
Singing: Hilary Summers/ Sarah Leonard
Conducting: Carlo Boccadoro
Ensemble: Sentieri Selvaggi
With Cristina Zavalloni
An Opera in two Acts, 2005
Conduction: Paul McGrath
Libretto: Michael Hastings
With John Graham, William Sheldon,
The Michael Nyman Band
Production: Michael Nyman
The Michael Nyman Band
Soundtrack album
The Michael Nyman Band
Conduction: Paul McGrath
Singing: Helen Williams
Film
OPERA/ MUSIC THEATRE
Concert performance with Alva Noto
Libretto: Michael Hastings
Libretto: Michael Hastings
Libretto: Victoria Hardie
Texts by William Shakespeare
Libretto: Jeremy Newsom and Pat Gavin
For A Hat, 1986
Concert
Concert with citations from G.F. Handel for large ensemble, commissioned by BBC Proms, London
For These Sad Distracted Times, 2009
Concert for large ensemble on the occasion of the opening of the Great North Run Marathon, commissioned by the Great North Run Cultural Programme
Concert for piano and large ensemble
Concert for piano and large ensemble
Marimba-concert commissioned by Tivoli Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and De Doelen
Concert for Chinese orchestra, commissioned by Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Barbican Centre London, The Sage Gateshead and the British Council Singapore
Sawan, Rang, Dhyan, 2003
For the Indian singers Rajan and Sajan Misra and large ensemble
For Gidon Kremer, commissioned by Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival
With the Indian mandolin-master U. Shrinivas, for large ensemble and solo mandolin
and Orchestra, 2001
Strong On The Causes Of Oaks, 1997
For Elisabeth Chojnacka
Commissioned by the Festival de Lille, for Kathryn Stott and the Orchestre National de Lille, version for 2 pianos for Katia and Marielle Labèque
For band/ brass ensemble, commissioned by London Brass
For the Michael Nyman Band and Orquesta Andaluzí de Tetouan, commissioned by Expo'92, Seville
A football-homage for large ensemble
Concert for soprano saxophone, for John Harle, commissioned by Bournemouth Sinfonietta
Dance
Commissioned and choreographed by Shobana Jeyasingh for the Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company
Commissioned and choreographed by Shobana Jeyasingh for the Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, world premiere at the Royal Northern College of Music Manchester
Choreographed by Stephen Petronio, Set Design by Anish Kapoor, world premiere at Yurba Buena Center fort the Arts, San Francisco
Piece for 3 - 4 dancers, choreographed by Shobana Jeyasingh, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Choreographed by Frédéric Flammand for Plan K, for a video installation by Fabrizio Plessi, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels
For the Rosemary Butcher Dance Company, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London
Commissioned by Siobhan Davies for the London Contemporary Dance Theatre, world premiere at the Sadler's Wells Theatre, London
Choreographed by Lucinda Childs and the Lucinda Childs Dance Company
Choreography by Farrell Dyde for the Houston Ballet
With texts by William Shakespeare, choreographed by Karine Saporta for the Avignon Festival
Composition for a fashion show by the designer Johji Yamamoto, solo violin: Alexander Balanescu
Art
Literature
AUDIOVISUAL WORK
Taking poetry from the First World War as his inspiration, Nyman has crafted a song cycle to film, presented in two groups of four songs, each preceded by several instrumental movements. The texts were all written by poets who - with the exception of the English artist-poet, David Bomberg - all lost their lives during the First World War.
The starting point for the music is the title of a series of poems by French writer, Gaston de Ruyter - 'Chansons vielles sur d'autre airs' ('Old songs to other tunes'). The 'chansons vielles' are the poems by English, French, German and Hungarian poets (mostly sung in their original languages) and the 'autres airs' are by English, French, German, Austro-Hungarian, Polish and Italian composers of the 17th and 19th centuries.
The film element, edited by Max Pugh, has been designed around footage sourced from French, German and American First World War film archives and the chosen excerpts deliberately focus on material that previous documenters of the First World War have ignored. There is no voice-over so as to allow the potency of the images in combination with the music to take centre stage.
“I aim to reflect the war from a different perspective” says Nyman. “I've paired a German poem with English music and a French poem with German music, for example, as a way of unpicking nationalism and national identity.”
War Work was commissioned in 2014 by the War on Screen International Film Festival; L'Arsenal de Metz; La Cité de la Musique, Paris; Kölner Philharmonie and the Palace of Arts, Budapest to commemorate the First World War centenary.