性別：男出生：1944年3月23日星座： 牡羊座國籍：英國
很多人都是從那部《The Piano》的配樂開始了解即而喜愛上了Michael Nyman，《The Piano》中雖然也有弦樂，主角是鋼琴，畢竟故事是以鋼琴及其女主人公展開，弦樂方面相對弱了許多，但這也不是最主要的。雖然這張OST在當年賣出了幾百萬張的天文數字，但卻在爭奪奧斯卡最佳配樂獎時輸給了John Williams的《辛德勒的名單》。這張OST中的音樂《The Promise》4年後被王菲的一首經典歌曲《暗涌》所用，只是曲作者竟然成了陳輝陽。1978年10月，他在樂評里首次將簡約主義(Minimalism)套用於音樂上。 後來麥可·尼曼遇到了他以後的好朋友兼老搭檔Peter Greenaway，兩人首次合作是1978年的《1-100》。Peter Greenaway後來的作品，諸如《The Draughtsman’s Contract》（繪畫師的契約），《動物園》，《Drowning By Numbers》(挨個淹死)，《廚師、大盜、他的妻子和她的情人》及《普羅斯佩羅的魔典》也都與其合作。 除了Peter Greenaway之外，和他合作過的導演還有Robert Young、Patrice Lecotne、Jane Campion、Diane Kurys、Neil Jordan、Michael Winterbotton等。1999年，Michael Nyman與Blur的主音歌手Damon Albarn聯手打造了一張電影原聲專輯《Ravenous》（貪婪）。電影本身好看與否暫且不論，但專輯確實是紅了一把，而在配樂當中使用Banjo（一種非洲的樂器）或許就是Michael Nyman的主意，畢竟他在早年曾去羅馬尼亞採過風，極擅長汲取各民族的民間音樂。專輯中有許多八十年代早期的老歌，經Michael Nyman重新編排後，一首首平淡無奇的樂曲再次聽來會覺得有趣味許多。2000年5月6-7日，Michael Nyman曾訪台參加台北國際城市藝術節，帶著的是他的Michael Nyman Band。同期赴台演出的有英國的Fantastical voyage科幻喜劇、Le jardin delices的梨園幽夢、韓國的歌舞料理王（Cookin’）及加拿大女高音Natalie Choquette。另外，他還出演過:情慾九歌9 Songs (2004)和Colonna sonora (1992)。RotoVision書局於2000年出版《film music screencraft》，書里有關於Michael Nyman的詳細介紹，還有其他的一些著名配樂大師也列在其中。
音樂創作：電影、電視和電視遊戲5 Postcards from Capital Cities (1967)Goole by Numbers (1976)Keep It Up Downstairs (1976)Tom Phillips (1977)A Walk Through H: The Reincarnation of an Ornithologist (1978)Vertical Features Remake (1978)1-100 (1978)The Falls (1980)Act of God (1980)Terence Conran (1981)The Draughtsmans Contract (1982)Brimstone Treacle (1982) (collaboration with Sting)Nellys Version (1983)The Coastline (1983)Making a Splash (1984)The Cold Room (1984)Fairly Secret Army (1984)A Zed Two Noughts (1985)The Kiss (1985)LAnge frénétique (1985)Ballet mécanique (1986 score; 1921 film)Ill Stake My Cremona to a Jews Trump (1986)The Disputation (1986)Le Miraculé (1987)The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (1987)Fear of Drowning (1988)Death in the Seine (1988)Drowning by Numbers (1988)Out of the Ruins (1989)Hubert Bals Handshake (1989)Monsieur Hire (1989)The Cook, the Thief, His Wife Her Lover (1989)Men of Steel (1990)Les Enfants volants (1990)The Hairdressers Husband (1990)Ich war ein glücklicher Mensch (1991)Prosperos Books (1991)The Fall of Icarus (1992)The Final Score (1992)The Piano (1993)Mesmer (1994)Agrave; la folie (1994)Anne No Nikki (Japanese anime adaption of The Diary of Anne Frank) (1995)Carrington (1995)The Ogre (1996)Enemy Zero (1996)Anzar (1997)The Other SideFrom the Gattaca soundtrack by Michael Nyman Image:Michael Nyman-Gattaca-The Other Side.oggProblems listening to the file? See media help.Gattaca (1997)Titch (1998)Practical Magic (1998) (unused score; 2 cuts made it onto early soundtrack pressings)Ravenous (1999) (collaboration with Damon Albarn)Wonderland (1999)Nabbies Love (1999)The End of the Affair (1999)Act Without Words I (2000)The Claim (2000)Man with a Movie Camera (1929 film; 2001 score)Subterrain (2001)Haute fidélité (2001)24 Hours in the Life of a Woman (2001)The Actors (2003)Nathalie... (2003)Luminal (2004)The Libertine (2004)Jestem (2005)A Cock and Bull Story (2006) (original arrangement of George Frideric Handels Sarabande; re-used recordings from The Draughtsmans Contract)Teresa, el cuerpo de Cristo (2007)
Nymans The Heart Asks Pleasure First (from The Piano) was used as backing music for one of the bank advertisements for Lloyds TSB broadcast on television. It has also been featured in episodes of 20/20.Sheep Tides (from Drowning by Numbers) was featured in a commercial in which a woman smashes a mans car.Music from Ravenous has been used at least once on WFYIs Across Indiana, in a segment titled On the Trail of John Hunt Morgan, produced by Scott Andrew Hutchins.A Cock and Bull Story contains music from The Draughtsmans Contract, as well as Nymans arrangements of classical music used in Stanley Kubricks Barry Lyndon (it does not use any music from Nymans Tristram Shandy opera).Nymans music for Peter Greenaways films has been used in the Japanese television program Iron Chef.Popular Chasing Sheep is Best Left to Shepherds (from The Draughtsmans Contract) constituted the main theme of Spanish TV program Queremos Saber, presented by Mercedes Milà in the nineties.Nyman features in Nine Songs (Michaeil Winterbottom, 2004) playing at the Royal Albert Hall.Nymans MGV: Musique à grande vitesse was used in November 2006 for a new 1-act ballet for the Royal Ballet in London, DGV (danse à grande vitesse) by Christopher Wheeldon.Nymans The Heart Asks Pleasure First was covered by the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. Nyman refused it to be released.