Page 212 - Alison Balsom Quiet City FULL BOOK

would still not be attributed to the "faster-higher-further faction" – although she
could more than just keep up.

"Quiet City" is also a statement in this respect. On her new album, the Englishwoman
gives a large space to contemplative and quiet music. In his 1939 work for trumpet,
cor anglais and strings, Copland created music "that recalls the nostalgia and inner
distress of a society deeply aware of its own insecurity." Balsom describes it as "a

true melancholy that only a certain style of trumpet playing can achieve."
The sound of the trumpet is singing, pleasing and pleasant

"Even as a teenager, I fell in love with Copland's 'Quiet City,'" recalls Alison Balsom.
Of course, she also had role models such as Hakan Hardenberger, Miles Davis or

Louis Armstrong, who showed you what the trumpet is capable of – but it is this
work that convinced her of this instrument. "This is it!" The play suggests the silence
of a sleeping city. The sound of a lonely clarinet emerges from her, then the sounds
of a trumpet flicker up. "The sound of the trumpet is singing, pleasing and pleasant."
"Quiet City" is incredible. The work is actually not difficult. But somehow it does." She

laughs. "For me, it's everything!"

Quiet City

Overall, the Englishwoman dedicates her new album to the American music of the
20th century. The works come from a time when jazz "exploded". Especially the
sound of the solo trumpet in classical and jazz music was stylistically contrasting at

that time. Fascinated by the coincidence of these two styles at this time between
composers and performers, Balsom wants to share her deep love for this special
character of the instrument, which transcends genres. In addition to Copland,
Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin and Charles Ives are represented. Also Miles