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British classical pianist. Recognised worldwide for her virtuosity and poetic poise, Imogen Cooper has established a reputation as one of the finest interpreters of the classical repertoire. She has appeared with the New York Philharmonic under Sir Colin Davis and Wiener Philharmoniker under Sir Simon Rattle, as well as with the Royal Concertgebouw, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Budapest Festival, and NHK Symphony orchestras. She has played with all the major British orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Harding and Philharmonia Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach, and given solo recitals in New York, Tokyo, Paris, Vienna, Prague, and London. A committed chamber musician, she has enjoyed long collaborations with the baritone Wolfgang Holzmair and cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton. She has recorded Concertos by Mozart with the Northern Sinfonia, a Schubert cycle released under the title Schubert Live, and three CDs for Wigmore Hall Live. Imogen Cooper was appointed CBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours List in 2007, and the following year received the Instrumentalist Award of the Royal Philharmonic Society. She is an Honorary Doctor of Music at the University of Exeter and an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music. She was the Humanitas Visiting Professor in Classical Music and Music Education at the University of Oxford for 2012 / 13. Cooper was born on August 28, 1949, in London. Her father, Martin Cooper, was a musicologist. She studied piano in London with Kathleen Long. Cooper's training had both French and classic Austrian elements: she enrolled as a preteen at the Paris Conservatory for studies with Jacques Février and Yvonne Lefébure, taking the school's coveted First Prize in piano. Cooper went on to Vienna for studies with the great Classical-period specialists Alfred Brendel, Paul Badura-Skoda, and Jörg Demus. Her London career was launched in 1969 with the Mozart Memorial Prize, and she has gone on to a schedule of international performances that have included multiple appearances with the London Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and Boston Symphony, among others; in Boston, she was immediately invited for a return visit by conductor Seiji Ozawa. Cooper has been active as an accompanist, most often to baritone Wolfgang Holzmair. She has played chamber music with the Belcea Quartet, among others. Her repertory includes all five of Beethoven's piano concertos and most of Mozart's mature concertos; she has also often played the piano concertos of Chopin, Piano Concerto in G major of Ravel, the Piano Concerto in A major Op. 54, of Schumann, and the Piano Concerto No. 3 of Bartók. Cooper has also given the premieres of several significant contemporary works, including Thomas Adès's Traced Overhead (1996) and Deirdre Gribbin's Decorated Skin (2003). As a recording artist, she has been associated mostly with the Philips, Avie, and, most recently, Chandos labels; on Chandos, she issued the album Iberia y Francia in 2019.
2021
Chandos
CD, Album
2019
Chandos
CD, Album
2019
Chandos
CD, Album
2017
Chandos
CD, Album
2015
Chandos
CD
2013
Wigmore Hall Live
CD, Album
2012
Decca
4xCD, Comp + Box
2010
Avie Records
2xCD
2010
Avie Records
CD
2010
Wigmore Hall Live
CD, Album
2009
2009
2007
Decca
2xCD
2007
RCA Red Seal
2xCD
2007
2006
Avie Records
File, ALAC, FLAC
2004
Philips, SBS (3)
3xCD
2002
Philips
CD
2002
RCA Red Seal, BMG France
CD, Album, Comp
2002
2000
Philips
CD
1999
Philips
CD, Album
1998
RCA Red Seal, BMG Classics
2xCD, Album
1996
Philips, Philips Classics
5xCD, RE, RM + Box, Comp
1996
1995
Philips
CD, Album
1995
1994
1991
Ottavo
CD
1990
Ottavo
CD
1990
Ottavo
CD
1989
Ottavo
CD
1988
Ottavo
CD
1988
Ottavo
CD, Num
1988
1987
Ottavo
CD
1985
1978
1978
1977
RCA Red Seal, Erato
LP
RCA Red Seal, Erato
LP
RCA Red Seal, Erato
LP
2019
Erato
21xCD + Box, Comp
2016
Chandos
CD, Album, Comp, Promo, Car
2016
2011
Sony Classical
2xCD, Album
2011
France Musique
6xCD + Box
2010
Sony Classical, Sony Music
2xCD, Comp
2010
RCA Red Seal, Sony Music
2xCD, Comp
2009
Gramophone Magazine
CD, Comp
2009
The Saul Zaentz Company
CD, EP, Comp, Promo, Blu
2009
2007
Gramophone Magazine
CD, Promo, Smplr
2006
Philips
CD, Album, Comp, RM
2006
Philips
CD, Album, Comp, RM
2006
ABC Classics
CD, Comp
2004
Classic FM
4xCD, Album, Comp + Box
2003
RCA Red Seal
4xCD, Comp + Box
2003
RCA Red Seal, BMG France
2xCD, Comp
2001
Warner Music Vision
DVD-V, PAL
2000
Decca Broadway
CD, Album, Comp
2000
Gramophone Magazine
CD, Promo, Smplr
1999
RCA Red Seal
4xCD, Comp + Box
1997
Philips
CD, Comp
1996
1995
Classic CD
CD, Comp
1992
Classic CD
CD, Comp
1991
1990
1990
1986
1984
1984
1984
1983
Fantasy, Universal
2xCD, Album, RE, RM
2012
WFMT Radio Network
13xCD, Comp, Transcription + Pla
2002
RCA Red Seal
4xCD, Comp + Box
1995
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