BBC Symphony Orchestra & Leonard Slatkin - Turnage: Another Set-to, Silent Cities, Four-Horned Fandango & Fractured Lines (2002) [Hi-Res]

Fractured Lines, the first CD of music by Mark-Anthony Turnage on the Chandos label, features the premiere recordings of four of the composer's most recent orchestral works. "Another Set To" gets the disc off to an exhilarating start. Described by Turnage himself in the informative sleeve notes as "quite argumentativeoptimistic and extrovert", "Another Set To" features trombone soloist Christian Lindberg whose growling yet extraordinarily agile playing goads and taunts the orchestra from start to finish.

"Silent Cities", which was inspired by a visit to the graveyards on the Somme and named after Kipling's description of that same place, is a far more somber affair. In complete contrast, "Four-Horned Fang" which follows on is a riotous tour de force for four horns and orchestra. Despite its title, "Four-Horned Fandango" is not an overtly Spanish piece, rather it contains more subtle references such as the occasional castanet flutter and percussive strings.

The disc is rounded off with "Fractured Lines", Turnage's double percussion concerto which features Evelyn Glennie and Peter Erskine; two better soloists would be impossible to find. Based on a tune written by Erskine himself, the concerto is a energetic, nay unstoppable work. A thrilling disc from start to finish. -- Rebecca Agnew