Alison Balsom is an award-winning classical trumpeter. Born in Hertfordshire in 1978, she began playing the trumpet at seven and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2001. Her debut album was released the following year; she won best female artist at the 2009 and 2011 Classical Brit awards. She lives in London with her husband, director Sam Mendes, and their two children. Balsom gives the UK premiere of Wynton Marsalis’s Trumpet Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra on 11 April at the Barbican and 12 April at Bristol Beacon, and with RSNO at Usher Hall on 18 August as part of the Edinburgh international festival.
1. Painting
Judith Beheading Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi
Recently, working in Florence, I was able to see this extraordinary painting at the Uffizi Gallery. It was staggering to see it in real life: it’s graphic and dramatic and unflinching. As soon as I turned the corner into the room I was struck by the violence of it, and the reluctance for Gentileschi to look away from the darkest part of the subject matter, which she returned to time and again. It also seemed to be one of the very few pieces in the gallery that portrayed a convincingly real and strong woman, rather than a caricature.
2. Concert
Patricia Kopatchinskaja: Everyday Non-sense (Southbank Centre, London SE1, 24 April)
I’m a bit in love with violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja. She is the most extraordinary artist, with a flawless technique and a spellbinding stage presence. She seems to be able to find an innate connection with the composer of the work she’s performing, as though she is inside the music itself. It’s courageous and uncompromising – not necessarily searching for the most beautiful tone or expected articulation, but looking instead for something more profound, sometimes in extreme and even shocking ways. This time she’s playing with the peerless Aurora Orchestra. The combination is sure to be memorable.
3. Film
Anatomy of a Fall (dir Justine Triet, 2023)
I found this completely gripping. It’s a study of human interaction disguised as a murder mystery, with an astonishing lead performance from Sandra Hüller, and the best acting I’ve ever seen from a child – Milo Machado-Graner (and the brilliant dog too). The film pivots on a single sensational scene between a husband and wife, showing the full complexity of a marital relationship. Often in films I’m aware I’m being manipulated to feel a certain way from moment to moment, but in this instance the film-maker didn’t do that – we never really knew which side to take. I was left with the feeling that visual grandeur or a huge budget really aren’t prerequisites to achieving something of real scale.
4. Garden
Hotel Endsleigh gardens, Devon
As we emerge from winter, I keep thinking about these gardens, designed by Humphry Repton in 1814. Depending on which direction you head off in, it can feel like stumbling into an exotic jungle, or travelling back in time: you might walk across waterfalls, through a little bamboo forest, or discover the various caves and shell grottos. My mum has always been a passionate gardener, and as children my brother and I would act as if it was torture to watch even 10 minutes of Gardener’s World. But of course now I’m drawn to the incredible beauty of places like this.
5. Book
The Myth of Normal by Gabor Maté
Gabor Maté is a pioneering physician and author, on the forefront of so many new ideas, revising and adding to his canon as new evidence and data emerges. I was captivated by his most recent book, in which he compassionately illustrates the human condition in today’s culture, from both a philosophical and a scientific stance. He writes so clearly on huge subjects as varied as trauma, societal structures and spirituality. I suspect I’ll keep returning to certain chapters of this book for guidance. I’m fascinated by his writing on neurodiversity and ADHD: he’s able to see and articulate what is so extraordinary about them. The best bit is that he suggests how things might be rectified. I’m a devoted follower.
6. Food
La Fromagerie, London W1
I really got into eating all sorts of unusual cheeses when I studied in Paris in 1999, and still do so, although I’m no connoisseur. I love going to La Fromagerie in Marylebone to get a black box full of beautiful-looking cheeses to either give as a gift, or to keep for ourselves. The experts there are great at curating what makes the perfect taste experience, so while I wait I wander around the serene space, which is filled to the brim with great food and fresh produce and flowers.
