Mark-Anthony Turnage

Mark-Anthony Turnage (born 10 June 1960) is an English composer of contemporary classical music.

Life and career Mark-Anthony Turnage was born in Corringham, Essex on 10 June 1960.

His initial musical studies were with Oliver Knussen, John Lambert, and later with Gunther Schuller. He also has been strongly influenced by jazz, in particular by the work of Miles Davis, and has composed works featuring jazz performers, including John Scofield, Peter Erskine, John Patitucci, and Joe Lovano.

Turnage has composed numerous orchestral and chamber works, and three full-length operas. Greek, composed with the encouragement of Hans Werner Henze and first performed in 1988 at the Munich Biennale, is based on Steven Berkoff's adaptation of Oedipus Rex. The Silver Tassie, first performed in 2000, is based on the play by Seán O'Casey. Anna Nicole, with a libretto by Richard Thomas and first performed in 2011, relates the rise and fall of Playboy model and media celebrity Anna Nicole Smith. His opera for family audiences, Coraline, is based on the dark fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman, and was staged by The Royal Opera at the Barbican Theatre in 2018. His operas have been performed around the world including notably by New York City Opera (2013), Opernhaus Zurich (2019), Theater Dortmund (2013), Theater Freiburg (2018) and the Opera de Lille (2018).

Other works include Three Screaming Popes (after the paintings by Francis Bacon), Your Rockaby (a concerto for saxophone and orchestra), Yet Another Set To (a concerto for trombone and orchestra, dedicated to Christian Lindberg), and From the Wreckage (a concerto for trumpet and orchestra, written for Håkan Hardenberger). Blood on the Floor (1993–1996), for jazz quartet and large ensemble, contains nine sections with a shared theme of drug addiction, the section titled "Elegy for Andy" being a lament for the loss of his brother in a drug-related death.

Personal life His partner is the director Rachael Hewer, who founded the Virtual Opera Project (VOPERA) in 2020.

In January 2025 Turnage was the castaway for BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, where his choices included "Notre Dame des Jouets" by Oliver Knussen, "Blue in Green" by Miles Davis and "Living for the City" by Stevie Wonder. In the same programme he spoke about volunteering regularly at a food bank, and about working on music projects with prisoners.

Works Opera

Ballet From All Sides (2005–06) L'Anatomie De La Sensation (2011) Undance (2011) Trespass (2012) Strapless (2016 revised 2017)

Orchestral

Night Dances (1981), for offstage string quintet, solo instrumental group and orchestra Three Screaming Popes (1988–89) Some Days (1989), song cycle for mezzo-soprano and orchestra Momentum (1990–1991) Drowned Out (1992–1993) Your Rockaby (1992–93), for soprano saxophone and orchestra Dispelling the Fears (1993–1994, rev. 1995), for two trumpets and orchestra Scorched (1996–2001), for jazz trio and orchestra Still Sleeping (1997) Evening Songs (1998) Silent Cities (1998) About Time (1999–2000), for ensemble and chamber orchestra of period instruments Another Set To (1999–2000), concerto for trombone and orchestra A Quick Blast (2000), for orchestral winds, brass and percussion Dark Crossing (2000), for chamber orchestra Etudes and Elegies (2000–2002) Four-Horned Fandango (2000), for four horns and orchestra On Opened Ground (2000–2001), concerto for viola and orchestra Uninterrupted Sorrow (2000–2001) Fractured Lines (2001), double concerto for two percussion and orchestra When I Woke (2001), for baritone and chamber orchestra A Quiet Life (2002), for string orchestra A Man Descending (2003), for tenor saxophone and chamber orchestra Riffs and Refrains (2003), concerto for clarinet and orchestra Scherzoid (2003–04) A Soothing Interlude (2004), for trombone and orchestra From the Wreckage (2004), concerto for trumpet and orchestra Yet Another Set To (2004), concerto for trombone and orchestra Ceres (2005) Hidden Love Song (2005), for soprano saxophone and chamber orchestra Juno (2005) Lullaby for Hans (2005), for string orchestra Three Asteroids (2005) The Torino Scale (2005) From All Sides (2005–06) A Prayer Out of Stillness (2007), concertante for double bass (doubling bass guitar) and string orchestra Chicago Remains (2007) Five Views of a Mouth (2007), concerto for flute and orchestra Mambo, Blues and Tarantella (2007), concerto for violin and orchestra Texan Tenebrae (2009) Hammered Out (2010) Cello Concerto (2010) Speranza (2011–12) Canon Fever (2012), premiered at the opening night of the 2012 BBC Proms. Frieze (2013) BBC co-commission with the Royal Philharmonic Society and the New York Philharmonic Erskine (2013), concerto for drum set and orchestra Passchendaele (2013) Piano Concerto (2013) Dialogue (2014), for violin and cello soloists, strings, percussion, harp and piano Håkan (2014), for trumpet and orchestra Martland Memorial (2014–15), for percussion and orchestra Remembering (2016), for orchestra Shadow Walker (2017), double concerto for two violins and orchestra Symphonic Movements (2017), for orchestra Towards Alba (2017–18), for horn and orchestra Time Flies (2019), for orchestra Go For It (2019), for orchestra Last Song for Olly (reduced version) (2018 arr.2020), reduced version for orchestra Up for Grabs (2020), for jazz trio and orchestra Cortege for Bernard Haitink (2021), for orchestra

Choral

The Game Is Over (2001–2002), for S.A.T.B. choir and orchestra A Relic of Memory (2003), for S.A.T.B. choir and orchestra Calmo (2003), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir and bells Two Fanfares and a Lament (2003), for S.A.T.B. choir and large ensemble Christmas Night (2006), for S.A.T.B. choir and piano Claremont Carol (2006), for upper-voice choir and piano or organ Miserere Nobis (2006), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir At Sixes and Sevens (2012), for soprano and baritone soloists, youth chorus and chamber orchestra Hibiki (2014), for two solo voices, children's chorus and orchestra (world premiere: Tokyo, 11 December 2016; European premiere: London, BBC Proms, 14 August 2017) Sing Out Loud (2017), two Welsh part songs for a cappella male chorus

Chamber

On All Fours (1985), for chamber ensemble Sarabande (1986), for soprano saxophone and piano Release (1987), for soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, bass clarinet, trumpet, trombone, percussion, piano and double bass Kai (1989–1990), for cello solo and ensemble Three Farewells (1989–1990), for flute, bass clarinet, harp and string quartet Set To (1992–1993), for brass dectet This Silence (1992–1993), for clarinet, bassoon, horn and string quintet Blood on the Floor (1993–1996), for jazz quartet and large ensemble Barrie's Deviant Fantasy (1995), for string quartet and referee's whistles Bass Invention (1999–2000), for double bass solo and ensemble Cantilena (2001), for oboe quintet Snapshots (2002), for large ensemble Crying Out Loud (2003), for large ensemble A Short Procession (2003), for piano trio Eulogy (2003), for viola solo and small ensemble No Let Up (2003), for ensemble Three Trios (2003–05), for piano trio Carnac (2004), for B♭ Clarinet and piano A Few Serenades (2004), for cello and piano A Slow Pavane (2004–2005), for piano trio A Fast Stomp (2005), for piano trio Bleak Moments (2005), for horn and string quartet Fanfare (from all sides) (2006), for brass ensemble Returning (2006), for string sextet Tango (2007), for ensemble Out of Black Dust (2007–08), for brass ensemble Four Chants (2008), for violin and piano Twisted Blues with Twisted Ballad (2008) (aka String Quartet No 1) Grazioso! (2009), for small ensemble Five Processionals (2009), for clarinet, violin, cello and piano Hilary's Hoedown (2009) encore for violin and piano GG (2010), for cello and percussion Three for Two (2010), for piano quartet Amelia's March (2010), for small ensemble Silem (2010), for solo trumpet and big band Undance (2011), for ensemble Johnston (2011), for two cellos Falling Apart (2012), for clarinet and piano Contusion (2013) (aka String Quartet No 2) Run Riot (2013), for saxophone quartet Power Play (2014), for viola and piano Maya (2014), for solo cello and chamber orchestra Duetti d'Amore (2015), for violin and cello Shroud (2016) (aka String Quartet No 3) Seven Pint-Sized Pieces (2016), for violin and piano Prussian Blue (2016), Quintet for piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass Cleethorpes Chorale (2017), for solo violin and piano Massarosa (2018), for bassoon quintet Nocturne (2018), for trumpet and strings Romanian Rhapsody (2018), for solo violin and ensemble Lament (2018–19), for solo violin and string orchestra A Furious Fanfare (2019), for trumpet, horn, trombone and percussion Winter's Edge (2019) (aka String Quartet No 4) Chorale (2020), for flute, bass clarinet, viola and cello Split Apart (2020), for string quartet Uli (2021), for eight players

Vocal

Lament for a Hanging Man (1983), for soprano and ensemble Some Days (1989), song cycle for mezzo-soprano and orchestra Greek Suite (1989), for mezzo-soprano, tenor soli and ensemble The Torn Fields (2000–2002), song cycle for baritone and large ensemble When I Woke (2001), song cycle for baritone and orchestra Two Baudelaire Songs (2003–04), for soprano and ensemble About Water (2006), for solo jazz singer; soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass soli; solo instrumental septet and large ensemble A Constant Obsession (2007), song cycle for tenor and ensemble Bellamy (2008), for countertenor and singing harpist In The Bleak Mid-Winter (arr. 2010) arranged for voice, harp, cello and double bass Testament (2017), cantata for solo soprano and orchestra Refugee (2018), for tenor and chamber orchestra Black Milk (2019), for jazz singer and sixteen players Owl Songs (2019), for soprano and eight players Without Ceremony (2019), for baritone and piano Of Nature's Light (2020), song cycle for mezzo-soprano and piano Silenced (2020), for tenor and piano Songs of Sleep and Regret (2020), for mezzo-soprano and piano

Solo instrumental

True Life Stories (1995–1999), for piano An Aria (with Dancing) (2004), for trumpet Ah, Quegli Occhi! (2006), for soprano saxophone Air with Variations (2007), for guitar Cradle Song (2009), for clarinet Milo (2009), for cello Leap (2010), for clarinet Four Meditations (2018), for harp On Marylebone Road (2019) for piano

Other

Anthem by Peter Erskine, ed. Turnage (1996), for jazz trio and chamber orchestra On the CD Music to Hear (Black Box, BBM 1065, 2001): Two Memorials (1997–2001) An Invention on "Solitude" (1997–98, rev. 1999) Sleep On (1992) Cortège for Chris (1997) Two Elegies Framing a Shout (1994) Three Farewells (1990) Tune for Toru (1995–1999)