Michael Nyman

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Michael Nyman (born March 23, 1944) is a British minimalist composer, pianist, librettist and musicologist, perhaps best known for the many scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the British filmmaker Peter Greenaway.

Nyman, who had studied with the noted Baroque music scholar Thurston Dart at King’s College London, drew frequently on early music sources in his scores for Greenaway’s films: Henry Purcell in The Draughtsman’s Contract and The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber in A Zed and Two Noughts, Mozart in Drowning by Numbers, and John Dowland in Prospero’s Books.

Nyman’s popularity increased significantly after he wrote the score to Jane Campion’s award-winning 1993 film The Piano. The album (“The Piano”) became a classical music best-seller. Although Nyman’s score was central to the movie he did not receive an Academy Award nomination despite being nominated for both a British Academy Award and a Golden Globe. He has scored numerous other films, the vast majority of them art films from Europe. His few forays into Hollywood composing have been Gattaca (“Gattaca”), Ravenous (with musician Damon Albarn), and The End of the Affair (“The End of The Affair”).

Among Nyman’s better known non-film works are Noises, Sounds & Sweet Airs (1987), for soprano, alto, tenor and instrumental ensemble (based on Nyman’s score for La Princesse de Milan); Ariel Songs (1990) for soprano and band; MGV (Musique à Grande Vitesse) (1993) for band; concertos for piano (based on The Piano score), harpsichord, trombone and saxophone; the opera The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (1986), based on a case-study by Oliver Sacks; and several string quartets.

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soundtrack, classical, piano, minimalism, contemporary classical
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The Actors: Music From The Motion Picture
Michael Nyman
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The Piano
Michael Nyman
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Gattaca
Michael Nyman
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Drowning By Numbers
Michael Nyman
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Top Tracks

1	The Heart Asks Pleasure First	1,174
2	The Promise	855
3	Big My Secret	766
4	A Bed of Ferns	715
5	The Sacrifice	631
6	To the Edge of the Earth	620
7	The Mood that Passes through You	549
8	A Wild and Distant Shore	537
9	The Scent of Love	530
10	Here To There	512
11	The Heart Asks Pleasure First/The Promise (Edit) full track	505
12	Deep into the Forest	467
13	The Embrace	459
14	Little Impulse	447
15	Lost and Found	428

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kaplain wrote:
yesterday afternoon

Hi all my debut album is out, if you like ambient piano music like Rachel Grimmes, Yann Tiersen, Max Richter ... Download High MP3 or Flac+ full digital booklet at http://stephanehoreczko.bandcamp.com/ or shop at iTunes, Amazonmp3, emusic, Lala, Rhapsody .... warmest regards http://stephane.horeczko.free.fr

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Amnesiac92 wrote:
11 days ago

Going back to my earlier point, I am not saying The Piano work is not great, just that because it is the "nicest" and most commercially "normal" shouldn't mean that it is all that is at the top. What about "Time Lapse", "Memorial", "Chasing sheep is best left to the shepards", "An eye for optical theory", "Bird list", "Not knowing the ropes", etc etc None in the top 15? And there are others as well. rant over.

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robetar wrote:
18 days ago

Prospero's Books is beautiful...

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iris_nik wrote:
20 days ago

Amazing...

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Antikrun wrote:
20 days ago

The cook the thief ! =))

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Pirate_Alliance wrote:
21 days ago

True liberating music! Though I must say I'm quite surprised that 'Chasing sheep is best left to the sheppard' isn't in the top 15... = /

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nDroae wrote:
26 days ago

Lol, Amnesiac92, I have most of the stuff you mentioned and I actually prefer some of it to much of The Piano. But IMO The Piano Concerto is far better than anything else, so THAT ought to be on top of the charts.... ;)

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Dysgenic wrote:
last month

Brilliant

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Frogalezito wrote:
last month

The Claim <3

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definitelylara wrote:
last month

God I love this music <3

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phototropism wrote:
last month

Yeh me neither!

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sursik wrote:
last month

can't wait for the glare

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Amnesiac92 wrote:
September 2009

I love Michael Nyman but prefer his early stuff, the pre "the heart asks for pleasure first" stuff which is less well known looking at the top tracks here. His early stuff for Peter Greenaway films such as Draughtsmans contract (how is "chasing sheep is best left to the shepards" not in the top 15????), a zed and two noughts, Drowning by numbers (a brilliant soundtrack). his best imo is his soundtrack to A walk through h but it is almost impossible to get hold of. I don't like his more mainstream work from the Piano onwards, he started with very playful fun songs but he has gone on to do boring mainstream stuff.

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nDroae wrote:
September 2009

Nightwish adaptation of The Heart Asks Pleasure First

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CashSugar wrote:
September 2009

"The Heart Asks Pleasure First" is my all time favorite piano piece. The first time I heard it I was utterly stunned, it was a complete shock of musical genius and emotional burst. Since, each time I hear it, it gives me the goosebumps and lifts my spirit to the skies. [4]

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AvintageClassic wrote:
September 2009

"The Heart Asks Pleasure First" is my all time favorite piano piece. The first time I heard it I was utterly stunned, it was a complete shock of musical genius and emotional burst. Since, each time I hear it, it gives me the goosebumps and lifts my spirit to the skies. [3]

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Myrkrith wrote:
September 2009

if you like him, you should have a look at my stuff... freestyle-improvisation at http://www.myrkrith.de

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Karnen wrote:
September 2009

What an amazing genius [2] "Deep into the Forest" is a magic song

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LeastingFallvo wrote:
August 2009

I wish there was something like an album version of the radio feature. I am really into the early Nyman stuff, but after the early/mid 90s, I don't see much of value, and unfortunately, that's his most popular period.

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marinaalberola wrote:
August 2009

I love '' a wild and distant shore''

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