Légende Alison Balsom & Tom Poster

• 1 I. Prelude 01:20
• 2 II. Sarabande 03:10
• 3 II. Sarabande - Cadenza 00:46
• 4 III. Gigue 01:36
• 5 Légende 06:09
• 6 Concert Etude, Op.49 03:17
• 7 Farewell to Stromness 03:53
• 8 I. Mit Kraft 05:12
• 9 II. Mäßig bewegt 02:19
• 10 III. Trauermusik 06:02
• 11 III. Trauermusik - Alle Menschen müssen sterben 02:14
• 12 II. Mouvement de menuet 03:36
• 13 The Thoughts of Dr May 06:28
• 14 Sonatine 07:05
• 15 Rondo for Lifey 01:20
• 16 Someone to Watch Over Me 04:00
• 17 The Way You Look Tonight 02:53
• Total Runtime 01:01:20

Info for Légende

The trumpeter Alison Balsom has a rich Warner Classics catalogue, but this is her first recording recital with piano - here played by her long-standing recital partner, Tom Poster.

Balsom describes the progamme as embracing 'the most important repetoire for trumpet and piano' - taking a fascinating journey through 20th century works by such composers as Enescu, Hindemith, Martinu, Francaix, Bernstein and Maxwell Davies. That being said, the final piece - preceding 'American Songbook' encores by Gershwin and Kern - dates from the 21st centruy and was composed by the team of Balsom and Poster themselves. Called The Thoughts of Dr. May, it is inspired by another British musician: Brain May, lead guitarist of the rock band Queen - and also, as it happens, an astrophysicist.

2013 Gramophone Artist of the Year, three-time winner at the Classic BRITs and also three-time winner at the Echo Klassik Awards, Alison Balsom has cemented an international reputation as one of classical music’s great ambassadors and is ranked amongst the most distinctive and ground-breaking musicians on the international circuit today. “This day has been a long time coming,” she says. “We’ve wanted to record this … most important repertoire for trumpet and piano since we started playing together more than 10 years ago.”

„Alison Balsom explores the trumpet’s true possibilities...At times poignant and melancholic, it suddenly changes to dazzling displays of virtuosity.' (The Lady)

'Alison Balsom is the poster girl of British classical music and one of the world's finest trumpeters...This new album contains a remarkable range of music.' (The Mail on Sunday)

The recital was recorded live in London.

Alison Balsom, trumpet
Tom Poster, piano

Alison Balsom
has cemented an international reputation as one of classical music’s great ambassadors. She has been honoured 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 Alison headlined classical music’s most celebrated concert – The Last Night of the BBC Proms – which reached its biggest ever global audience of an estimated 150 million.

Recent and upcoming highlights include appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi. Alison also looks forward to embarking on major international tours with I Musici di Roma, the Scottish Ensemble and Alison’s own Balsom Ensemble in 10/11 and beyond.

While represented by the Young Concert Artists Trust, Alison caught the ear of EMI Classics with whom she records exclusively. Her internationally celebrated Bach Trumpet and Organ disc of 2005 was quickly followed by the Caprice album which won her further critical acclaim. Her third album, featuring the great pillars of the trumpet repertoire, the concertos of Haydn and Hummel, firmly established her as the world's leading trumpeter. Her eagerly awaited follow up album which was released in autumn 2010 to great critical acclaim includes a selection of Italian Baroque Concertos

Under the auspices of the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme, Alison performed at the Wigmore Hall and with all of the BBC orchestras.

Alison studied trumpet at the Guildhall School of Music, the Paris Conservatoire, and with Håkan Hardenberger. She was previously a member of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Alison was a concerto finalist in the BBC Young Musician competition in 1998 and received the Feeling Musique Prize for quality of sound in the 4th Maurice André International Trumpet Competition. She is Visiting Professor of Trumpet to the Guildhall School of Music. Alison performs a wide range of recital and concerto repertoire, from Albinoni to Zimmermann and performs on both modern and baroque trumpets.

Booklet for Légende