Michael Nyman

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

For violin cello and piano'The title 'Time Will Pronounce'is taken from the last lines of Joseph Brodsky’s poem 'Bosnia Tune' which deals with the horror of the unnecessary unacceptable daily deaths in Bosnia during 1992 (andstill in 1993): ‘Time whose sharp blood-thirsty quill parts the killed from those who kill will pronounce the latter tribe as your type’. The violin and cello are (generally) treated as a unit independent of the piano. Theform (generally) alternates slow and fast tempi without motivation. The musical ideas are (generally) carried over from section to section. (Generally) the harmonic melodic and textual materials features third and semitonesderived (generally) from the movement of the bass part in the opening bars.

String Quartet No.3 was written for and first performed by the Balanescu Quartet February 1990 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall London. Duration 16 minutes. A score is available on sale..Quoting composer: In the summer of 1989 Icomposed a choral work Out of the Ruins for Agnieszka Piotrowska’s BBC2 documentary which dealt with the physical and emotional responses of some inhabitants of Leninakhan to the earthquake which devastated Armenia theprevious December. When he heard the recording of the work that I made with the Holy Echmiadzin Chorus under the fervent conducting of Khoren Meykhanejian Alex Balanescu suggested turning Out of the Ruins into a string quartet. There seemed no reason or opportunity to do this until I felt the need to add to the intensity of my experiences in Armenia the no less profound experience of witnessing the images of the Romanian revolution on television duringthe later part of December 1989.The compositional procedure was as follows: to take Out of the Ruins as a template on which the Romanian vocal or instrumental music would be superimposed quite often stretched into newintervallic shapes though the demands of the completely performed harmonic structure.

Set of Parts for Nyman's 'In Re Don Giovanni' for amplified string quartet. The arrangement for string quartet was made at the request of Alexander Balanescu for the Bicentenary of Mozart's death in 1991. It was first performedby the Balanescu Quartet at the Queen Elizabeth Hall London 1991. Duration 3 minutes. Full score also available on sale.

The arrangement for string quartet was made at the request of Alexander Balanescu for the Bicentenary of Mozart's death in 1991. It was first performed by the Balanescu Quartet at the Queen Elizabeth Hall London 1991.Duration 3 minutes. A set of parts is available for sale.

String Quartet No.2 was commissioned by Shobana Jeyasingh as a solo dance work: Miniatures. It was first performed by her with the Balanescu Quartet on 15 September 1988 London. Duration 22 minutes. Score available on sale.

Yamamoto Perpetuo was composed in 1993 at the request of Yohji Yamamoto to accompany his fashion show in Paris. Written with Alexander Balanescu in mind it became a virtuoso work in twelve movements. It subsequently became inits entirety the first violin part of Michael Nyman’s String QuartetNo.4.

String Quartet No.2 was commissioned by Shobana Jeyasingh as a solo dance work: Miniatures. It was first performed by her with the Balanescu Quartet on 15 September 1988 London. Duration 22 minutes. Instrumental parts areavailable on sale.

At every turn Nyman has proved eminently practical. Not for him the ivory tower anguish of a tormented composer grappling with abstract systems. Rather he has consistently displayed an openness to collaboration a spry sense ofhumour a literate imagination and an instinctive ability to engage a highly diverse audience.