Trumpeter Alison Balsom to retire from performing after Last Night Of The Proms

Classical trumpeter Alison Balsom is to retire from performing after one final concert at the Last Night Of The Proms.

The musician, who is married to Skyfall director Sir Sam Mendes, confirmed this would be her “last night on stage” in conversation with journalist John Wilson for BBC Radio 4’s This Cultural Life.

The 46-year-old said: “I’ve been so lucky to play with some of the greatest orchestras in the world. The light hits them in a new way, and they feel different every time.

“But this chance to play the Hummel at the Last Night Of The Proms, it feels very final for me. I know what I want to say about this piece, but I don’t think I’m going to have anything more to say after this.”

Expanding on this, she added: “The trumpet is just the best thing ever. I would always champion the trumpet, but I personally have been playing the trumpet for 40 years, and I’ve followed my particular path very honestly and with authenticity, and I feel that I’ve come to the end of that path.”

The Last Night Of The Proms 2025, airing on September 13, will see Balsom play the Hummel Trumpet Concerto in E flat major.

Asked if this will be her last night on stage, Balsom said: “This is going to be my last night on stage, because it’s not something you can half do.

“You have to be on the road all year round. What I’ve been doing the last couple of years is like doing the Wimbledon final and then no tennis, and then the French Open final, and then no tennis. It’s not sustainable at that level.

“And I have a family, but I feel very passionately about this particular concert, particularly because it was that first concert I ever saw on TV where it made me think, ‘Look at that, it’s a trumpet soloist at the Last Night Of The Proms.’

“And it hit me between the eyes of, ‘Wow, that’s a brilliant thing’. And I’ve been given that chance again for the second time and I just think it’s a sign.”

Balsom played at the Last Night Of The Proms in 2009 and said she felt “really sick” as she was pregnant at the time.

She also said that “having a family” and wanting to see her family was “certainly one part” of her decision to step back and spoke about the mental toll it takes to be a disciplined musician.

“I’m done with touring because it’s something that is incredibly intense and it’s not just that your physically removed from your family but you’re also mentally, emotionally just somewhere else. It’s incredibly intense and all encompassing when you’re working as a soloist and you’re on the road”, she said.

Asked if will “put the trumpet down”, she said: “Yeah, because it’s really hard with the trumpet to just do it a bit.

“Because it will only take a couple of days before you can’t really play as well. And then two weeks later I wouldn’t get through the whole concerto, and no one would want to hear it at all. It doesn’t take long.”

Balsom has won three Classic Brit awards and was made an OBE in 2016 for services to music.

This year’s Proms has seen performances from pop singer Jade, Grammy Award-winner Samara Joy and pianist Yunchan Lim, with a Traitors-themed concert also included on the programme.

This Cultural Life is on BBC Radio 4 on September 4 at 11am.

Balsom performs as part of the Last Night Of The Proms on September 13, which will be broadcast live on BBC Two before switching to BBC One for the second half of the performance.