Interview with Alison Balsom
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In an interesting interview with Alison Balsom, when asked, “What does it take to succeed on this instrument?”, she answered, “It’s incredibly physically demanding to play the trumpet, and it’s not like weightlifting – it’s like dancing. You have to be really strong, and graceful and supple in that strength. But also, the muscles in your embouchure” – the position and use of the lips, tongue and teeth while playing – “are so small that it doesn’t take much for your lip to be gone – and then no notes will come out. The idea of walking on stage in front of an amazing orchestra and a full audience, but knowing that at any minute something might happen and you can’t get another note out – it’s a high wire act. You’ve got to stay calm. It takes a certain sang-froid in your personality to handle that pressure.”
A link to the rest of the interview:
https://inews.co.uk/culture/music/alison-balsom-interview-classical-music-2993333 -
In the interview Alison Balsom talks about the Wynton Marsalis Trumpet Cocerto. Here is a sample of it, followed by a review of her outstanding performance.
