Turnage’s style
Character development Turnage has cited operas by Britten, Tippett and Shostakovich as key influencers. He uses Tippett’s technique of assigning an instrument to a character to give works definition.
Into the darkness Accusations of bleakness surround Turnage’s work. He has said that he is often quite surprised at how intense some of it becomes, and several tweaks have been made to works in search of frothier melodies.
Non-traditional solo instruments
A one-time flautist and saxophonist, Turnage writes brilliantly for woodwind – as in Your Rockaby, a concerto for soprano sax, reportedly his favourite instrument – and also for brass, as he shows in Set To.
Cross-cultural pollination
Turnage is not afraid to mix genres or tackle difficult subject matter, such as drug addiction, which forms the backdrop to Blood on the Floor. The orchestral work Three Screaming Popes is linked to visual work by Francis Bacon, while several pieces feature football songs.