Turnage: Evening Songs - download (MP3 & FLAC)

December 2005

****

“…Mark-Anthony Turnage… is one of the most distinctive sound worlds in modern music. The four orchestral works on the LPO disc are full of the driven, dancing rhythms, the garishly brilliant or darkly sensuous instrumental colours, the floating, improvisatory melodic lines, the brittle humour and nervous melancholy that instantly shouts (or whispers) 'Turnage'.”

2010

“Mark-Anthony Turnage has enjoyed associations with the CBSO, BBC SO and now the London Philharmonic, each resulting in a wealth of new music and, fortunately for us, a CD for home listening. A number of ensembles had a hand in commissioning Scherzoid, the first work on this latest collection, and its particular propulsive character would seem to have been influenced by the involvement of the New York Philharmonic. Though rhythmically complex and changing its mood as rapidly as the title punningly suggests, the music is easy to assimilate.
Its urban bustle and swagger take in minimalist influences alongside the usual Stravinskymeets- Miles Davis mélange. As if to secure transatlantic approval, at one point there's a distinct whiff of On the Waterfront, although, in the event, Lorin Maazel elected not to conduct the first performance. Jonathan Nott does the honours here – and splendidly.
Turnage's subtler, shell-shocked lyricism is more in evidence in the purely orchestral EveningSongs. Originating in lullabies for his sons, Tubin Orchestral 1191 the calm outer panels enclose an interlude with a more troubled, expressionist melodic line, typically Brittenish at the outset. The Dylan Thomas settings, When I Woke, were written for a celebrated singer who did not take them up but it's difficult to feel them in any way problematic in this ardent account. Certainly, the spare accompanying textures create no difficulties for the soloist. Yet Another Set To brings back the more boisterous, head-banging Turnage. All is not plain sailing in that the composer here shows us his Boulez-like propensity to reshape and recycle existing music.
Cheekily, the score incorporates not only 2000's Another Set To – itself a reworking, previously recorded by Christian Lindberg for Chandos – but also a movement derived from Blood on theFloor. It's exhilarating, explosive stuff, even more fun in live performance. Here alone concluding applause is (not inappropriately) retained.
All credit to the LPO for compiling a whole evening of Turnage. You may not always like what he does or how he does it but his instantly recognisable voice is well served by the blunt immediacy of the sound and the obvious flair of the performances.”