Capturing Audiences with Michael Nyman's String Quartets
30th September 2014
© Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Nyman’s music spans all genres with celebrated work in the areas of opera, concert music, and film soundtracks (of which The Draughtsman's Contract and The Piano are the best-known). Often considered a Renaissance Man due to his varied interests, he is a performer, conductor, bandleader, pianist, author, musicologist, and, as of late, a photographer and film-maker. To mark his 70th birthday this year, Nyman added to his already robust orchestral catalogue by writing a number of new symphonies to be premiered over the next season.
Nyman’s string quartets and quartets-plus-one are influenced by both current and historical events, by Mozart and classic quartet repertoire, by film, art, photography, fashion, tango music, and South Indian dance. Select one to anchor and inspire a program or create a compelling all-Nyman concert from several works. String Quartets
String Quartet No. 1 (1985) - 26'
String Quartet No. 2 (1988) - 22'
String Quartet No. 3 (1990) - 16'
In Re Don Giovanni (1991) - 3'
String Quartet No. 4 (1995) - 40'
Beckham Crosses, Nyman Scores (2002) - 10'
string quartet and tape String Quartet No. 5 (2011) - 15'
'Let's not make a song and dance out of it'
Quartets-Plus-One
In Re Don Giovanni (1991) - 3'
with double bass Miserere Paraphrase (1991) - 6'
(from The Cook, the Thief, His Wife
& Her Lover)
piano quintet
Shaping the Curve (1991) - 11'
with soprano saxophone
Through the Only Window (2012) - 27'
piano quintet
image: Violin, Anonymous, c. 1705 - c. 1710, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
