Michael Nyman

A transcription of a work for small orchestra (the score for Peter Greenaway's film A Zed and Two Noughts) scored for solo violin. Composed and first performed in Paris in 1986. Edited by Alexander Balanescu. / Violon

Revisiting The Don is a piece of music composed by Michael Nyman for the album 'Mozart 252', a celebration of the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth. Revisiting The Don is one of the two newly-composed works on this album and is arranged here as parts for String Quintet. Nyman himself states that 'as the title suggests, I revisit the same harmonic material that makes 'In Re Don Giovanni' so powerful, and come up with more lyrical 'solutions'.' The result is a wonderful piece, beginning with a smooth staccato that lays the foundations for wonderful lilting melodies. The piece gradually progresses to widen out the warm strings, making this piece a real joy to play. / Quintette A Cordes

Drowning By Numbers arranged by the composer from his sound-track for the film by Peter Greenaway for Violin Viola and Chamber Orchestra. This work was commissioned by the London Mozart Players and first performedDecember 1998 at the Warwick Arts Centre. Duration 20 minutes. Full Score and parts are available on hire from the publishers. Instrumentation: Solo Violin Solo Viola 2 Flutes Oboe Cor Anglais 2 B Flat Clarinets 2 Bassoons 2 Horns in F 2 Trumpets in C Bass Trombone Piano Strings (8.6.4.4.2).

Yamamoto Perpetuo s'est composé en 1993 sur demande de Yohji Yamamoto pour accompagner son défilé de mode à Paris. Ecrit avec Alexandre Balanescu à l'esprit c'est devenu un travail de virtuose dans douze mouvements. Ce plus tard est devenu en sa totalité la première pièce de violon de la série QuartetNo.4 de Michael Nyman. / Violon

String Quartet No.4 was written for the Camilli Quartet who gave the first performance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall London April 1995. It is dedicated to the memory of Nyman's composition teacher Alan Bush.This quartet is anarrative made up of a chain of twelve complete but often cross-related movements each quite simple in design. For instance the Scottish melody first heard in the second half of I is hinted at in the 2nd violin/viola in thesecond fast section of II and is directly quoted again during III and XII. The theme of the fast section of IV is taken up again in VIII; IX reverts to the mood of the opening of I while the rising scale/syncopated themes of II IX and the bass of X and XII are related. X also reintroduces the slow harmonics theme from VII. XII is (apparently) cast in the form of a baroque French rondeau. The main theme of VI was plucked out of the Quartet and used inmy score for Christopher Hampton’s film Carrington. Duration 40 minutes. A set of parts is available for sale.

For Violin Cello and Piano. Composer's Notes 'Even though this work was intended to celebrate (as instructed by the commissioner Brolly Arts of Salt LakeCity) the wildlife and landscape of Utah (and especially its birdlife notably the sora which has a noticeable influence on the melodic writing at times) the title refers ironically in this 'natural' context to the re-seeing’of (mainly industrial) reality in early Soviet photography. Aleksandr Rodchenko (1881-1956) drew attention to the new type of photographer as someone who photographs 'facts' and who is able through photography to fight against'looking like art' with high quality examples and to do this you have to experiment going as far as the ‘easelisation’ of the photographic art.The work was written for and first performed by the Ahn Trio in November2004 in Salt Lake City and is dedicated to the memory of John Peel the British radio disc jockey who died during the final stages of its composition.' - Michael Nyman