British trumpeter Alison Balsom has announced that she will retire from performing following her appearance at the Last Night of the Proms on 13 September.
Speaking to journalist John Wilson on BBC Radio 4’s This Cultural Life, Balsom confirmed that her performance of Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto in E flat major will be her “last night on stage.”
The 46-year-old reflected: “I’ve been so lucky to play with some of the greatest orchestras in the world. But this chance to play the Hummel at the Last Night of the Proms, it feels very final for me. I know what I want to say about this piece, but I don’t think I’m going to have anything more to say after this.”
A leading figure for the trumpet
Born in Hitchin in 1978, Alison Louise Balsom, Lady Mendes, OBE studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and the Conservatoire de Paris with Håkan Hardenberger. She first gained international attention as a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, performing with all the BBC orchestras.
Her debut album was released in 2002 on EMI Classics, followed by Bach Works for Trumpet (2005) and Caprice (2006), the latter included on the New York Times list of albums of the year. Over the following two decades she recorded widely, becoming one of the most recognisable trumpet soloists of her generation.
Balsom was named Artist of the Year at the 2013 Gramophone Awards, has won three Classic BRIT Awards and three German Echo Awards, and was appointed OBE in 2016 for services to music. She served as artistic director of the 2019 Cheltenham Music Festival, premiered new works by composers such as Qigang Chen and Guy Barker at the Proms, and devised Gabriel, a Purcell- and Handel-inspired theatre piece presented at Shakespeare’s Globe.
She previously appeared at the Last Night of the Proms in 2009, performing Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto and a Gershwin jazz arrangement alongside mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly.
Alongside her performing career, Balsom has been a Visiting Professor of Trumpet at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, championing music education and the role of the trumpet in classical music.
Stepping away
Balsom, who is married to film director Sir Sam Mendes, cited the demands of touring and the need to devote more time to her family as key factors in her decision to step back. “It’s not something you can half do,” she told This Cultural Life. “You have to be on the road all year round. It’s incredibly intense and all-encompassing when you’re working as a soloist.”
Her performance of the Hummel Trumpet Concerto at the Royal Albert Hall will bring to a close more than two decades of international solo appearances, recordings, and premieres that have significantly broadened the place of the trumpet in concert life.
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