Eponymous Alison

Trumpet sensation Alison Balsom’s new recording of modern and contemporary repertoire, Seraph – released on EMI Classics, February 7, 2012 – marked an important artistic stepping stone in her career. The labor of love features the world premiere recording of Seraph, James MacMillan’s trumpet concerto written for Alison, works by Takemitsu and Zimmermann and her long-awaited recording of the ever popular Arutunian Trumpet Concerto. Joining Alison in the concertos is the Scottish Ensemble.
Take a listen to her conversation with host John Clare here.

The trumpeter has released today her new self-titled album, an ear candy collection of her most popular recordings. The thirteen tracks on Alison Balsom, each chosen carefully from her six EMI Classics albums recorded over the past decade, combine to offer a compelling portrait of Balsom’s artistic achievements, while also pointing in the direction of what’s to come in Alison’s exceptional career. Although the music is extraordinarily varied, all of the tracks share an emotional immediacy and listenability - whether it be the singing strains of a Bach Sarabande, the smoldering dance rhythms of a Piazzolla tango, or the hymn-like profundity of American standards like “Shanendoah” or “Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen” from her most recent album Seraph.
 On May 14, 2012, Alison Balsom will celebrate the release of the new album with an intimate audience at the Greene Space at New York Public Radio. The performance will be webcast live around the world and will be her first New York engagement since 2010. August 2012 will mark Balsom’s Hollywood Bowl performance debut, and will also see her touring all major U.S. markets.
Alison Balsom has broken ground as a classical musician on a traditionally challenging instrument with both impeccable credentials and a mainstream appeal that has drawn attention from meida outlets as varied as Town and Country and Women’s Wear Daily to the The New York Times which has praised her "clear, soaring tone, virtuosic technique and elegant phrasing." The awards and accolades around Balsom continue to pile up – she’s twice been named the Classical BRIT ‘Female Artist of the Year,’ along with a host of other international awards, and has performed on numerous television and radio appearances, including The Late Show with David Letterman, Prairie Home Companion, Sirius-XM and many more.

Will Dave resist saying STrumpet?

With her new recording, Italian Concertos, already firmly established on Billboard’s classical bestsellers chart, the dynamic British trumpet player Alison Balsom takes another step towards superstardom when she appears tonight on Late Night with David Letterman (CBS-TV beginning 11:35pm; locally in San Antonio at 10:35pm on KENS 5). Balsom, an exclusive EMI Classics recording artist, is scheduled to perform a track featured on her new album: the third movement (Allegro) of Marcello’s Oboe Concerto in C minor, arranged for trumpet by Balsom herself.
Balsom recently performed in New York City, following the release of Italian Concertos in October. The Los Angeles Times included the new title in its holiday gift guide, where critic Mark Swed noted, “The young British trumpeter Alison Balsom knocks off high notes like they were going out of style.” Gramophone enthusiastically praised “Balsom’s suave, characterful performances.” New York’s classical music station, WQXR, invited listeners to comment on the new album, stating its own opinion clearly: “It’s not just that she’s blonde, slim, and stylish; it’s the depth of her musicianship that makes her stand out along with the ability to make the solo trumpet seem as natural as a solo violin or cello. Those qualities emerge on Balsom’s new album, Italian Concertos, which focuses on concertos originally composed for violin or oboe by Vivaldi, Albinoni, Tartini, Cimarosa, and Marcello.”
Balsom discusses Italian Concertos in this video, available on EMI Classics’ YouTube channel:

Alison Balsom has achieved an international reputation as one of classical music’s great ambassadors. She has been honored with numerous awards by Classic FM, Gramophone, and Echo Klassik, and in 2009 she became the first ever Briton to be crowned “Female Artist of the Year” at the Classical BRITs. In September 2009 Balsom headlined The Last Night of the BBC Proms, which was viewed by an estimated global audience of 150 million.
Recent and upcoming highlights include appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, Toronto Symphony, Orchestre National de France, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, and La Verdi.
Major international tours in 2010-11 and beyond will bring Balsom into collaboration with I Musici di Roma, Kremerata Baltica, Concerto Köln, the Scottish Ensemble, and her own Balsom Ensemble. Her ever-growing recording catalog for EMI Classics, with whom she records exclusively, has won international critical renown.
Alison Balsom studied trumpet at the Guildhall School of Music, the Paris Conservatoire, and with Hakan Hardenberger.