Mark-Anthony Turnage facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Mark-Anthony Turnage CBE
Turnage speaks at the 2014 Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
Born	(1960-06-10) 10 June 1960 (age 65) Corringham, Essex, England
Occupation	Composer

Mark-Anthony Turnage (born June 10, 1960) is a well-known English composer. He creates contemporary classical music, which is a modern style of classical music.

Life and Career
Personal Life
Works
See also

Life and Career

Mark-Anthony Turnage was born in Corringham, Essex, England, on June 10, 1960. He was the oldest of three children. His parents loved classical music and were very involved in their Christian faith.

He started composing music when he was just nine years old. By the age of fourteen, he began studying at the junior section of the Royal College of Music.

His first music teachers included Oliver Knussen and John Lambert. Later, he studied with Gunther Schuller. Turnage has also been greatly influenced by jazz music. He especially admires the work of jazz legend Miles Davis. Because of this, he has written pieces that feature famous jazz musicians like John Scofield and Joe Lovano.

Major Works and Performances

Turnage has written many pieces for orchestras and for smaller groups of instruments, known as chamber music. He has also composed several full-length operas.

One of his famous operas is Greek, first performed in 1988. It is based on an old Greek story, Oedipus Rex. Another opera, The Silver Tassie, premiered in 2000. His opera Anna Nicole, from 2011, tells the story of a famous model. In 2018, his opera for families, Coraline, was performed. It is based on the fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman. His operas have been performed in many cities around the world, including New York, Zurich, and London.

Other important works include Three Screaming Popes, inspired by paintings. He also wrote Your Rockaby, a concerto for saxophone and orchestra, and From the Wreckage, a concerto for trumpet. His piece Blood on the Floor (1993–1996) is for a jazz quartet and a large group of musicians.

More recently, Turnage composed the orchestral piece Remembering, which was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra in 2017. He also wrote Shadow Walker, a double violin concerto, and Testament, which uses Ukrainian texts. He has created song cycles for well-known singers like Sarah Connolly.

Ballet Music

Turnage's music has also been used for ballets. His work Blood on the Floor was choreographed for the Paris Opera Ballet in 2011. In the same year, he composed the music for Undance, working with choreographer Wayne McGregor. In 2012, Trespass, a ballet with music by Turnage, was performed by The Royal Ballet. He also composed the score for Strapless in 2017.

Composer in Residence Roles

Turnage has held important positions with several orchestras. He was the first Radcliffe Composer in Association with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 1989 to 1993. From 2000 to 2003, he was the first Associate Composer for the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He was also Composer in Residence with the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 2005 to 2010. Between 2006 and 2010, he shared a composer-in-residence role with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

In 2005, he became a Research Fellow in Composition at the Royal College of Music. In 2015, he was honored with the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his contributions to music.

Personal Life

Mark-Anthony Turnage's partner is Rachael Hewer, a director who started the Virtual Opera Project (VOPERA) in 2020.

In January 2025, Turnage was a guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. On the show, he talked about volunteering regularly at a food bank. He also spoke about working on music projects with people in prison.

Works

Here are some of Mark-Anthony Turnage's musical works:

Opera

Title	Genre	Subdivisions	Libretto	Premiere	Theatre
Greek	opera	2 acts, 90 min	The composer and Jonathan Moore, after the play by Steven Berkoff	17 June 1988	Munich Biennale
Twice Through the Heart	dramatic scena	3 parts, 30 min	Jackie Kay	16 June 1997	Aldeburgh Festival
Country of the Blind	chamber opera			16 June 1997	Aldeburgh Festival
The Silver Tassie	opera	4 acts, 120 min	Amanda Holden, after the play by Seán O'Casey	16 February 2000	English National Opera
Anna Nicole	opera	2 acts, 120 min	Richard Thomas	17 February 2011	Royal Opera House, London
Coraline	opera	2 acts	Rory Mullarkey after the novella by Neil Gaiman	27 March 2018	Barbican Centre, London
Festen	opera	90 min	Lee Hall, after the movie by Thomas Vinterbeg	11 February 2025	Royal Opera House, London

Ballet

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

Orchestral Music

Night Dances (1981)
Three Screaming Popes (1988–89)
Some Days (1989), song cycle
Momentum (1990–1991)
Drowned Out (1992–1993)
Your Rockaby (1992–93), for 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)
Another Set To (1999–2000), concerto for trombone
A Quick Blast (2000)
Dark Crossing (2000)
Etudes and Elegies (2000–2002)
Four-Horned Fandango (2000)
On Opened Ground (2000–2001), concerto for viola
Uninterrupted Sorrow (2000–2001)
Fractured Lines (2001), double concerto for two percussion
When I Woke (2001), for baritone and orchestra
A Quiet Life (2002), for string orchestra
A Man Descending (2003), for tenor saxophone and orchestra
Riffs and Refrains (2003), concerto for clarinet
Scherzoid (2003–04)
A Soothing Interlude (2004), for trombone and orchestra
From the Wreckage (2004), concerto for trumpet
Yet Another Set To (2004), concerto for trombone
Ceres (2005)
Hidden Love Song (2005), for soprano saxophone and 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)
Chicago Remains (2007)
Five Views of a Mouth (2007), concerto for flute
Mambo, Blues and Tarantella (2007), concerto for violin
Texan Tenebrae (2009)
Hammered Out (2010)
Cello Concerto (2010)
Speranza (2011–12)
Canon Fever (2012)
Frieze (2013)
Erskine (2013), concerto for drum set
Passchendaele (2013)
Piano Concerto (2013)
Dialogue (2014)
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
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)
Up for Grabs (2020), for jazz trio and orchestra
Cortege for Bernard Haitink (2021), for orchestra

Choral Music

The Game Is Over (2001–2002), for choir and orchestra
A Relic of Memory (2003), for choir and orchestra
Calmo (2003), for a cappella choir
Two Fanfares and a Lament (2003), for choir and large ensemble
Christmas Night (2006), for choir and piano
Claremont Carol (2006), for upper-voice choir
Miserere Nobis (2006), for a cappella choir
At Sixes and Sevens (2012)
Hibiki (2014)
Sing Out Loud (2017)

Chamber Music

On All Fours (1985)
Sarabande (1986), for saxophone and piano
Release (1987)
Kai (1989–1990), for cello solo and ensemble
Three Farewells (1989–1990)
Set To (1992–1993), for brass dectet
This Silence (1992–1993)
Blood on the Floor (1993–1996)
Barrie's Deviant Fantasy (1995)
Bass Invention (1999–2000)
Cantilena (2001), for oboe quintet
Snapshots (2002)
Crying Out Loud (2003)
A Short Procession (2003), for piano trio
Eulogy (2003), for viola solo and small ensemble
No Let Up (2003)
Three Trios (2003–05), for piano trio
Carnac (2004), for 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)
Fanfare (from all sides) (2006)
Returning (2006), for string sextet
Tango (2007)
Out of Black Dust (2007–08)
Four Chants (2008), for violin and piano
Twisted Blues with Twisted Ballad (2008)
Grazioso! (2009)
Five Processionals (2009)
Hilary's Hoedown (2009)
GG (2010), for cello and percussion
Three for Two (2010), for piano quartet
Amelia's March (2010)
Silem (2010), for solo trumpet and big band
Undance (2011)
Johnston (2011), for two cellos
Falling Apart (2012), for clarinet and piano
Contusion (2013)
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)
Seven Pint-Sized Pieces (2016), for violin and piano
Prussian Blue (2016)
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)
Winter's Edge (2019)
Chorale (2020)
Split Apart (2020), for string quartet
Uli (2021), for eight players

Vocal Music

Lament for a Hanging Man (1983), for soprano and ensemble
Some Days (1989), song cycle
Greek Suite (1989)
The Torn Fields (2000–2002), song cycle
When I Woke (2001), song cycle
Two Baudelaire Songs (2003–04)
About Water (2006)
A Constant Obsession (2007), song cycle
Bellamy (2008)
In The Bleak Mid-Winter (arr. 2010)
Testament (2017), cantata
Refugee (2018), for tenor and orchestra
Black Milk (2019), for jazz singer
Owl Songs (2019), for soprano
Without Ceremony (2019), for baritone and piano
Of Nature's Light (2020), song cycle
Silenced (2020), for tenor and piano
Songs of Sleep and Regret (2020)

Solo Instrumental Music

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 Works

Anthem by Peter Erskine, ed. Turnage (1996)
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)