A belated thank you for your support, Antonio.

Friday, June 5, 2020

Various Composers - Seraph (Alison Balsom)


Information

  • (01) James MacMillan - Seraph for trumpet & string orchestra
  • (04) Toru Takemitsu - Paths for solo trumpet
  • (05) Alexander Arutiunian - Trumpet Concerto in A flat
  • (08) Nobody knows (Negro spiritual, arr. Tom Poster & Alison Balsom)
  • (09) Bernd Alois Zimmermann - Trumpet Concerto 'Nobody knows de trouble I see'

Alison Balsom, trumpet
Scottish Ensemble (1-3)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Lawrence Renes, conductor (5-7, 9)

Date: 2012
Label: Warner Classics (EMI)
https://www.warnerclassics.com/release/seraph

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Review

Balsom with new and not-so-old concertos for trumpet

After the epic confrontation of James MacMillan’s earlier concerto, its successor deftly combines trumpet and strings in music that ranges from the incisiveness of its first movement, via the ‘seraphic’ plaintiveness of its lightly textured Adagio to the robust interplay of the finale. Balsom takes its not inconsiderable demands in her stride, with the Scottish Ensemble unstinting in its support.

Coming after the pensive Lutosławski tribute that is Toru Takamitsu’s Paths, Alexander Arutiunian’s Trumpet Concerto remains an effective accommodation of Stalinist dictates – nimbly alternating between rhetoric and energy with an appealing melodiousness redolent of Glière. Balsom projects it with due vitality, though Bibi Black finds a degree more spontaneity and expressive poise. Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s is arguably the finest of all latter-day concertos: its sequence of variations on the spiritual Nobody knows de trouble I see (an evocative arrangement by Balsom and Tom Poster prefaces this account) moving from real ominousness, through glancing irony and a bracing workout for soloist and orchestra, to fateful uncertainty. Reinhold Friedrich evinces greater command in those central sections, their bluesy overtones a little cautious as rendered by the BBC Scottish Symphony, yet Balsom’s heartfelt eloquence elsewhere cannot be gainsaid.

The sound in all three locations is clear and transparent without lacking impact, and the notes are succinctly informative. A pity that another concerto could have been included though, if Balsom is planning a follow-up disc (how about the Maxwell Davies, Panufnik and Weinberg concertos?), so much the better.

-- Richard Whitehouse, Gramophone

More reviews:
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

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Alison Balsom (born 7 October 1978 in Hertfordshire) is an English trumpet soloist, arranger, producer, music educator, curator and spokesperson for the importance of music education. She started her career in 2001 and released her debut album in 2002. Since then she recorded almost exclusively for EMI (now Warner Classics). Balsom was awarded Artist of the Year at the 2013 Gramophone Awards and has won three Classic BRIT Awards and three German Echo Awards. Balsom was also the principal trumpet of the London Chamber Orchestra. Her main trumpet is a Bob Malone-converted Bach C trumpet.

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FLAC, tracks
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Enjoy!

3 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Hi Ronald Do, the links are not available anymore, could you kindly re-up? Thanks in advance!

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  3. Choose one link, copy and paste it to your browser's address bar, wait a few seconds (you may need to click 'Continue' first), then click 'Free Access with Ads' / 'Get link'. Complete the steps / captchas if require.
    If you are asked to download or install anything, IGNORE, only download from file hosting site (mega.nz).
    If MEGA shows 'Bandwidth Limit Exceeded' message, try to create a free account.

    https://direct-link.net/610926/seraph
    or
    https://uii.io/5TV2VjYt
    or
    https://exe.io/1wYuFF

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