Mark-Anthony Turnage

Mark-Anthony Turnage CBE (born 10 June 1960) is a prolific[1] English composer of classical music.

Biography

Turnage was born in Corringham, Essex. His initial musical studies were with Oliver Knussen, John Lambert, and later with Gunther Schuller.[2] 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 the King. The Silver Tassie, first performed in 2000, is based on the play by Seán O'Casey. Anna Nicole with libretto by Richard Thomas, first performed in 2011, relates the rise and fall of Playboy model and media celebrity Anna-Nicole Smith. 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.

Turnage was the first Radcliffe Composer in Association with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 1989 until 1993 and between 2000 and 2003 was the BBC Symphony Orchestra's first Associate Composer. He was Composer in Residence with the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 2005 until 2010. Between 2006 and 2010, Turnage was a co-composer-in-residence of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a position he held alongside Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov.

In Autumn 2005, he was appointed the Royal College of Music's Research Fellow in Composition. In 2015 he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to music.[3]

Works

Opera

Title Genre Subdivisions Libretto Premiere Theatre
Greek opera 2 acts, 90 Turnagethe composer and Jonathan Moore, after the play by Steven Berkoff 1988061717 June 1988 Munich Biennale
Twice Through the Heart dramatic scena 3 parts, 30 KayJackie Kay 1997061716 June 1997 Aldeburgh Festival
Country of the Blind chamber opera     1997061716 June 1997 Aldeburgh Festival
Silver TassieThe Silver Tassie opera 4 acts, 120 HoldenAmanda Holden, after the play by Seán O'Casey 2000021616 February 2000 English National Opera
Anna Nicole opera 2 acts, 120 ThomasRichard Thomas 2011021717 February 2011 Royal Opera House, London[4]

Ballet

Orchestral

Choral

Chamber

Vocal

Solo instrumental

Other

References

  1. "Birthday: Mark-Anthony Turnage", The Times (10 June 2010)
  2. "Mark-Anthony Turnage Biography". Boosey & Hawkes. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  3. Metro, 13 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015
  4. Anna Nicole at the Royal Opera House. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  5. Music to Hear CD liner notes
  6. "Turnage: Music to Hear". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 14 February 2012.

External links

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