MUSIC: Minimalist to the Max

Composer Michael Nyman, the man behind The Piano, has conquered stage and screen -- but not the British critics

The man who wrote last year's most memorable and original movie score -- for Jane Campion's The Piano -- was not even nominated for an Academy Award. That says a lot about the Oscars, but it also says something about Michael Nyman, a composer who has never quite received his due. Whether writing for films or turning out concertos, string quartets, ballets and chamber operas, the English critic turned composer is a cult figure on both sides of the Atlantic who yearns for wider acceptance. "I've had to contend with a certain amount of envy and puffy-nosed disapproval," he says. "I...

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