Nyman is a composer well known for his many film scores (collaborations with Peter Greenaway, Neil Jordan and Jane Campion, among others), as well as writing for choral, orchestral and dance ensembles.
But this solo piano show was a bleak presentation which did little to enhance Michael Nyman's reputation.
Accompanying his scores for projected silent films and a montage of cheerless East End photographs were two-handed picks from his popular film works.
Unfortunately, while the film and photo pieces could be tender (East End II) and energetic (Manhatta), the "best of Nyman" songs came across as flat and arid.
Possibly the venue was wrong - the sheer size of the Dome seemed to stifle both dynamism and subtlety - or perhaps Nyman's work is better suited to a string quartet - at least to provide a broader gamut of tone to his iterative works.
Where things came alive was with the score for the 1920 avantgarde short film Manhatta, a depiction of a day in New York City. Here Nyman's music burbled and pealed, an exhausting engine of noise as time passed, jumping and cutting in a faithful replication of the film's editing.
But even here a more intimate venue would have served Nyman better.
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