APLAINTIVE trumpet A melody cuts over the plangent sound of the cor anglais. Gentle dissonance reveals the work's modernism: composed in 1939, Aaron Copland's Quiet City is a meditative contemplation of change. It was the piece that Alison Balsom performed in the brass finals of BBC Young Musician in 1998, the competition that propelled the trumpeter into the spotlight and marked the beginning of a new phase for the instrument. Copland's work is the title track to Miss Balsom's latest recording, the first installment in a new five-album deal with Warner Classics.
Such arrangements are now unusual record labels like to leave capacity for the next shiny soloist-but everything about Miss Balsom's career is out of the ordinary: the virtuoso has shown that the trumpet can handle everything from Purcell to Piazzolla. She has premiered concertos by James MacMillan and Guy Barker and breathed new life into classic works by Vivaldi, Bach, and Handel. These feature among her 15-album back-catalog for Warner (then EMI Classics), the cover artwork for which is framed and displayed in her downstairs loo. A sepia-tinged image of Miss Balsom holding a valve-less instrument-the cover for a Baroque programme -watches over visitors as they wash their hands.
'It was the Copland piece that unlocked the expressivity of the trumpet for me,' reveals Miss Balsom. 'It changed how I view the instrument.'
Denne historien er fra August 17, 2022-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra August 17, 2022-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
