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Great British composer dies at 93

At one time his music was thought difficult to play and to listen to but latterly he was acknowledged as a master of his art.

Born on January 2, 1905 in London, he lived for music even as a child.

He went to the Royal College of Music in London but his early career was a struggle - made more difficult by his radical political views.

Sir Michael was briefly imprisoned as a conscientious objector, and his wartime oratorio 'A Child of Our Time' reflected its composer's pacifist beliefs.

The piece used American Negro spirituals to convey the depth of suffering of Jewish victims of the Nazis. It was the work of which he was most proud.

His five operas, including 'The Midsummer Marriage', helped to make him famous.

He mixed abstract ideas with slang and popular catch-phrases.

Sir Michael once described the effect music had on him. "It has such an extraordinary power and it wraps you around. If I hear it in my head or coming from the television, anywhere, it's effect is quite immediate," he said.

He was still composing when he was 90 and remained astonishingly youthful and energetic.

Like many British composers he loved the English countryside. He was an individualist who went his own way as a musician - as one fan put it a "dreamer of extraordinary dreams".

Sir Michael, who was president of the Society of Recorder Players, was awarded the Order of Merit and made a CBE.

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